MOMMER 

Ax  E.  PHILLIPS 
O  p  PE, w  H  BI.M 


The  Master  Mummer 


"  Let  the  boy  have  his  chance,"  said  Allan. 
Frontispiece.  The  Master  Mummer. 


The 
Master  Mummer 

By  E.  PHILLIPS  OPPENHEIM 


Author  of  "  Anna,  the  Adventuress,"  "A  Prince  of 
Sinners,"  "The  Betrayal,"  Etc. 


WITH  FOUR  ILLUSTRATIONS 


A.  L.  BURT  COMPANY 
Publishers  New  York 


Copyright,  1904, 
BY  LITTLE,  BROWN,  AND  COMPANY. 

All  rights  reserved 


A  Prince  of  Sinners 

Anna  the 
Adventuress 

The  Master 
Mummer 

A  Maker  of  History 

Mysterious  Mr. 
Sabin 

The  Yellow  Crayon 
The  Betrayal 
The  Traitors 
Enoch  Strone 
A  Sleeping  Memory 
The  Malefactor 

A  Daughter  of  the 
Marionis 

The  Mystery  of  Mr. 
Bernard  Brown 

A  Lost  Leader 


The  Great  Secret 
The  Avenger 
As  a  Man  Lives 
The  Missioner 
The  Governors 

The  Man  and  His 
Kingdom 

A  Millionaire  of 
Yesterday 

The  Long  Arm  of 
Mannister 

Jeanne  of  the 
Marshes 

The  Illustrious 
Prince 

The  Lost 
Ambassador 

Berenice 

The  Moving  Finger 


Stack 
Annex 

r* 


Book  1 


The  Master  Mummer 


CHAPTER   I 

SHEETS  of  virgin  manuscript  paper  littered  my 
desk,  the  smoke  of  much  uselessly  consumed 
tobacco  hung  about  the  room  in  a  little  cloud.  Many 
a  time  I  had  dipped  my  pen  in  the  ink,  only  to  find 
myself  a  few  minutes  later  scrawling  ridiculous  little 
figures  upon  the  margin  of  my  blotting-pad.  It  was 
not  at  all  an  auspicious  start  for  one  who  sought 
immortality. 

There  came  a  growl  presently  from  the  other  side 
of  the  room,  where  Mabane,  attired  in  a  disreputable 
smock,  with  a  short  black  pipe  in  the  corner  of  his 
mouth,  was  industriously  defacing  a  small  canvas. 
Mabane  was  tall  and  fair  and  lean,  with  a  mass  of 
refractory  hair  which  was  the  despair  of  his  barber; 
a  Scotchman  with  keen  blue  eyes,  and  humorous 
mouth  amply  redeeming  his  face  from  the  plainness 
which  would  otherwise  have  been  its  lot.  He  also 
was  in  search  of  immortality. 

"  Make  a  start  for  Heaven's  sake,  Arnold,"  he  im- 
plored. "  To  look  at  you  is  an  incitement  to  laziness. 
The  world  's  full  of  things  to  write  about.  Make  a 
choice  and  have  done  with  it.  Write  something,  even 
if  you  have  to  tear  it  up  afterwards." 

I  turned  round  in  my  chair  and  regarded  Mabane 
reproachfully. 

3 


4  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Get  on  with  your  pot-boiler,  and  leave  me  alone, 
Allan,"  I  said.  "  You  do  not  understand  my  diffi- 
culties in  the  least.  It  is  simply  a  matter  of  selection. 
My  brain  is  full  of  ideas  —  brimming  over.  I  want 
to  be  sure  that  I  am  choosing  the  best." 

There  came  to  me  from  across  the  room  a  grunt 
of  contempt. 

"  Pot-boiler  indeed !  What  about  short  stories  at 
ten  guineas  a  time,  must  begin  in  the  middle,  scented 
and  padded  to  order,  Anthony  Hopeish,  with  the 
sugar  of  Austin  Dobson  and  the  pepper  of  Kipling 
shaken  on  ad  lib.f  Man  alive,  do  you  know  what 
pot-boilers  are  ?  It 's  a  perfect  conservatory  you  're 
living  in.  Got  any  tobacco,  Arnold?  " 

I  jerked  my  pouch  across  the  room,  and  it  was 
•caught  with  a  deft  little  backward  swing  of  the  hand. 
Allan  Mabane  was  an  M.C.C.  man,  and  a  favourite 
point  with  his  captain. 

"  You  've  got  me  on  the  hip,  Allan,"  I  answered, 
rising  suddenly  from  my  chair  and  walking  restlessly 
up  and  down  the  large  bare  room.  "  The  devil  him- 
self might  have  put  those,  words  into  your  mouth. 
They  are  pot-boilers,  every  one  of  them,  and  I  am 
sick  of  it.  I  want  to  do  something  altogether  differ- 
ent. I  am  sure  that  I  can,  but  I  have  got  into  the 
way  of  writing  those  other  things,  and  I  can't  get  out 
of  it.  That  is  why  I  am  sitting  here  like  an  owl." 

Mabane  refilled  his  pipe  and  smoked  contentedly. 

"  I  know  exactly  how  you  're  feeling,  old  chap," 
he  said  sympathetically.  "  I  get  a  dash  of  the  same 
thing  sometimes  —  generally  in  the  springtime.  It 
begins  with  a  sort  of  wistfulness,  a  sense  of  expansion 
follows,  you  go  about  all  the  time  with  your  head  in 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  £ 

the  clouds.  You  want  to  collect  all  the  beautiful 
things  in  life  and  express  them.  Oh,  I  know  all  about 
it.  It  generally  means  a  girl.  Where  were  you  last 
night?" 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders. 

"  Where  I  shall  be  to-night,  to-morrow  night  — 
where  I  was  a  year  ago.  That  is  the  trouble  of  it  all. 
One  is  always  in  the  same  place." 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  It  is  a  very  bad  attack,"  he  said.  "  Your  gener- 
alities may  be  all  right,  but  they  are  not  convincing." 

"  I  have  not  spoken  a  word  to  a  woman,  except  to 
Mrs.  Burdett,  for  a  week  or  more,"  I  declared. 

Mabane  resumed  his  work.  Such  a  discussion,  his 
gesture  seemed  to  indicate,  was  not  worth  continuing. 
But  I  continued,  following  out  my  train  of  thought, 
though  I  spoke  as  much  to  myself  as  to  my  friend. 

"  You  are  right  about  my  stories,"  I  admitted.  "  I 
have  painted  rose-coloured  pictures  of  an  imaginary 
life,  and  publishers  have  bought  them,  and  the  public, 
I  suppose,  have  read  them.  I  have  dressed  up  puppets 
of  wood  and  stone,  and  set  them  moving  like  mechan- 
ical dolls  —  over-gilded,  artificial,  vulgar.  And  all 
the  time  the  real  thing  knocks  at  our  doors." 

Mabane  stepped  back  from  his  canvas  to  examine 
critically  the  effect  of  an  unexpected  dash  of  colour. 

"  The  public,  my  dear  Greatson,"  he  said  abstract- 
edly, "  do  not  want  the  real  thing  —  from  you.  Every 
man  to  his  metier.  Yours  is  to  sing  of  blue  skies 
and  west  winds,  of  hay-scented  meadows  and  Wat- 
teau-like  revellers  in  a  paradise  as  artificial  as  a 
Dutch  garden.  Take  my  advice,  and  keep  your  muse 
Chained.  The  other  worlds  are  for  the  other  writers." 


6  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  was  annoyed  with  Mabane.  There  was  just 
sufficient  truth  in  his  words  to  make  them  sound 
brutal.  I  answered  him  with  some  heat. 

"  Not  if  I  starve  for  it,  Allan?  The  whole  cycle 
of  life  goes  humming  around  us,  hour  by  hour.  It 
is  here,  there,  everywhere.  I  will  bring  a  little  of  it 
into  my  work,  or  I  will  write  no  more." 

Mabane  shook  his  head.  He  was  busy  again  upon 
his  canvas. 

"  It  is  always  the  humourist,"  he  murmured,  "  who 
is  ambitious  to  write  a  tragedy  —  and  vice  versa. 
The  only  sane  man  is  he  who  is  conscious  of  his. 
limitations." 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  answered  quickly,  "  the  man 
who  admits  them  is  a  fool.  I  have  made  up  my  mind. 
I  will  dress  no  more  dolls  in  fine  clothes,  and  set  them 
strutting  across  a  rose-garlanded  stage.  I  will  create, 
or  I  will  leave  alone.  I  will  write  of  men  and  women, 
or  not  at  all." 

"  It  will  affect  your  income,"  Mabane  said.  "  It 
will  cost  you  money  in  postage  stamps,  and  your 
manuscripts  will  be  declined  with  thanks." 

His  gentle  cynicism  left  me  unmoved.  I  had 
almost  forgotten  his  presence.  I  was  standing  over 
by  the  window,  looking  out  across  a  wilderness  of 
housetops.  My  own  thoughts  for  the  moment  were 
sufficient.  I  spoke,  it  is  true,  but  I  spoke  to  myself. 

"  A  beginning,"  I  murmured.  "  That  is  all  one 
wants.  It  seems  so  hard,  and  yet  —  it  ought  to  be 
so  easy.  If  one  could  bi,jt  lift  the  roofs  —  could  but 
see  for  a  moment  underneath." 

"  I  can  save  you  the  trouble,"  Mabane  remarked 
cheerfully,  strolling  over  to  my  side.  "  Where  are 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  7 

you  looking?  Chertsey  Street,  eh?  Well,  in  all 
probability  mamma  is  cooking  the  dinner,  Mary  is 
scrubbing  the  floor,  Miss  Flora  is  dusting  the  draw- 
ing-room, and  Miss  Louisa  is  practising  her  scales. 
You  have  got  a  maggot  in  your  brain,  Greatson. 
Life  such  as  you  are  thinking  of  is  the  most  common- 
place thing  in  the  world.  The  middle-classes  have  n't 
the  capacity  for  passion  —  even  the  tragedy  of  exist- 
ence never  troubles  them.  Don't  try  to  stir  up  the 
muddy  waters,  Arnold.  Write  a  pretty  story  about  a 
Princess  and  her  lovers,  and  draw  your  cheque." 

"  There  are  times,  Allan,"  I  remarked  thoughtfully, 
"  when  you  are  an  intolerable  nuisance." 

Mabane  shrugged  his  shoulders  and  returned  to 
his  work.  Apparently  he  had  reached  a  point  in  it 
which  required  his  undivided  attention,  for  he  re- 
lapsed almost  at  once  into  silence.  Following  his 
example,  I  too  returned  to  my  desk  and  took  up  my 
pen.  As  a  rule  my  work  came  to  me  easily.  Even 
now  there  were  shadowy  ideas,  well  within  my  mental 
grasp  —  ideas,  however,  which  I  was  in  the  humour 
to  repel  rather  than  to  invite.  For  I  knew  very  well 
whither  they  would  lead  me  —  back  to  the  creation 
of  those  lighter  and  more  fanciful  figures  flitting 
always  across  the  canvas  of  a  painted  world.  A 
certain  facility  for  this  sort  of  thing  had  brought  me 
a  reputation  which  I  was  already  growing  to  hate. 
More  than  ever  I  was  determined  not  to  yield. 
Mabane's  words  had  come  to  me  with  a  subtle  note 
of  mockery  underlying  their  undoubted  common-sense. 
I  thrust  the  memory  of  them  on  one  side.  Certain 
gifts  I  knew  that  I  possessed.  I  had  a  ready  pen  and 
a  facile  invention.  Something  had  stirred  in  me  a 


8  THE    MASTER    MUMMER 

late-awakened  but  irresistible  desire  to  apply  them  to 
a  different  purpose  than  ever  before.  As  I  sat  there 
the  creations  of  my  fancy  flitted  before  me  one  by  one 

—  delicate,  perhaps,  and  graceful,  thoughtfully  con- 
ceived, adequately  completed.     Yet  I  knew  very  well 
that  they  were  like  ripples  upon  the  water,  creatures 
without  lasting  forms  or  shape,  images  passing  as 
easily  as  they  had  come  into  the  mists  of  oblivion. 
The  human  touch,  the  transforming  fire  of  life  was 
wholly  wanting.    These  April  creations  of  my  brain 

—  carnival  figures,  laughing  and  weeping  with  equal 
facility,  lacked  always  and  altogether  the  blood  and 
muscle  of  human  creatures.     The  mishaps  of  their 
lives  struck  never  a  tragic  note ;  always  the  thrill  and 
stir  of  actual  existence  were  wanting.    I  would  have 
no  more  of  them.     I  felt  myself  capable  of  other 
things.    I  would  wait  until  other  things  came. 

The  door  was  pushed  open,  and  Arthur  smiled  in 
upon  us.  This  third  member  of  our  bachelor  house- 
hold was  younger  than  either  Mabane  or  myself- — 
a  smooth-faced,  handsome  boy,  resplendent  to-day  in 
frock-coat  and  silk  bat. 

"Hullo!"  he  exclaimed.  "Hard  at  work,  both 
of  you!" 

Mabane  laid  down  his  brush  and  surveyed  the  new- 
comer critically. 

"  Arthur,"  he  declared  with  slow  emphasis,  "  you 
do  us  credit  —  you  do  indeed.  I  hope  that  you  will 
show  yourself  to  our  worthy  landlady,  and  that  you 
will  linger  upon  the  doorstep  as  long  as  possible. 
This  sort  of  thing  is  good  for  our  waning  credit. 
I  am  no  judge,  for  I  never  possessed  such  a  garment, 
but  there  is  something  about  the  skirts  of  your  frock- 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  9 

coat  which  appeals  to  me.  There  is  indeed,  Arthur. 
And  then  your  tie  —  the  cunning  arrangement  of 
it " 

"  Oh,  rats !  "  the  boy  exclaimed,  laughing.  "  Give 
me  a  couple  of  cigarettes,  there  's  a  good  chap,  and 
do  we  feed  at  home  to-night?  " 

Mabane  produced  the  cigarettes  and  turned  back 
to  his  work. 

"  We  do ! "  he  admitted  with  a  sigh.  "  Always 
on  Tuesdays,  you  know.  By-the-bye,  are  you  going 
to  the  works  in  that  costume?  " 

"  Not  likely !  It 's  my  day  at  the  depot,  worse 
luck,"  Arthur  answered,  pausing  to  strike  a  match. 
"  What 's  up  with  Arnold?  " 

"  Got  the  blues,  because  his  muse  won't  work," 
Mabane  said.  "  He  wants  to  strike  out  in  a  new 
line  —  something  blood-curdling,  you  know  —  Tol- 
stoi-like, or  Hall  Caineish  —  he  does  n't  care  which. 
He  wants  to  do  what  nobody  else  ever  will  —  take 
himself  seriously.  I  put  it  down  in  charity  to 
dyspepsia." 

"  Mabane  is  an  ass !  "  I  grunted.  "  Be  off,  Arthur, 
there  's  a  good  chap,  and  don't  listen  to  him.  He 
has  n't  the  least  idea  what  he  is  talking  about." 

Arthur,  however,  happened  to  be  in  no  hurry.  He 
tilted  his  hat  on  the  back  of  his  head,  and  leaned  upon 
the  table. 

"  I  have  always  noticed,"  he  remarked  affably, 
"  that  under  Allan's  most  asinine  speeches  there 
usually  lurks  a  substratum  of  truth.  Are  you  really 
going  to  write  a  serious  novel,  Arnold  ?  " 

I  lit  a  cigarette  and  leaned  back  in  my  chair  resign- 
edly. Arthur  was  a  most  impenetrable  person,  and 


10 

if  he  meant  to  stay,  I  knew  very  well  that  it  was 
hopeless  to  attempt  to  hurry  him. 

"  I  had  some  idea  of  it,"  I  admitted.  "  By-the-bye, 
Arthur,  you  are  a  person  with  a  deep  insight  into 
life.  Can't  you  give  me  a  few  hints  ?  I  have  n't 
even  made  a  start." 

Arthur  considered  the  matter  in  all  seriousness. 

"  It  is  a  bit  difficult  for  you,  I  daresay,"  he  re- 
marked. "  You  stop  indoors  so  much,  and  when 
you  do  go  out  you  mope  off  into  the  country  by  your- 
self. You  want  to  knock  about  the  restaurants  and 
places  to  get  ideas.  That 's  what  Gorman  always 
does.  You  see  you  get  all  your  characters  from  life 
in  them,  and  they  seem  so  much  more  natural." 

"  And  who,"  I  asked,  "  is  Mr.  Gorman  ?  I  do  not 
recognize  the  name." 

"  Pal  of  mine,"  Arthur  answered  easily.  "  I  don't 
bring  him  here  because  he  's  a  bit  loud  for  you  chaps. 
Writes  stories  for  no  end  of  papers.  Illustrated  Bits 
and  the  Cigarette  Journal  print  anything  he  cares  to 
send.  I  thought  perhaps  you  'd  know  the  name." 

Mabane  went  off  into  a  peal  of  laughter  behind 
his  canvas.  The  boy  remained  imperturbable. 

"  Of  course,  I  'm  not  comparing  his  work  with 
Arnold's,"  he  declared.  "  Arnold's  stuff  is  no  end 
better,  of  course.  But,  after  all,  the  chap 's  got 
common-sense.  If  they  want  me  to  draw  a  motor 
I  go  and  sit  down  in  front  of  it.  If  Arnold  wants 
to  write  of  real  things,  real  men  and  women,  you 
know,  he  ought  to  go  out  and  look  for  them.  If  he 
sits  here  and  just  imagines  them,  how  can  he  be  sure 
that  they  are  the  real  thing  ?  See  what  I  mean  ?  " 

There  was  a  short  silence.    Arthur  was  swinging 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  n 

his  long  legs  backwards  and  forwards,  and  whistling 
softly  to  himself.  I  looked  at  him  for  a  moment 
curiously.  The  words  of  an  ancient  proverb  flitted 
through  my  brain. 

"  Arthur,"  I  declared  solemnly,  laying  down  my 
pen,  "  you  are  a  prophet  in  disguise,  the  prophet  sent 
to  lift  the  curtain  which  is  before  my  eyes.  Which 
way  shall  I  go  to  find  these  real  men  and  real  women, 
to  look  upon  these  tragic  happenings  ?  For  Heaven's 
sake  direct  me.  Where,  for  instance,  does  Mr. 
Gorman  go?  " 

Arthur  swung  himself  off,  laughing. 

"  Gorman  goes  everywhere,"  he  answered.  "  If 
I  were  you  I  should  try  one  of  the  big  railway  sta- 
tions. So  long! " 

I  rose  to  my  feet,  and  taking  down  my  hat  com- 
menced to  brush  it.  Mabane  looked  up  from  his 
work. 

"  Where  are  you  off  to,  Arnold?  "  he  asked. 

Some  curious  instinct  or  power  of  divination  might 
indeed  have  given  me  a  passing  glimpse  of  the  things 
which  lay  beyond,  through  the  portals  of  that  day,  for 
I  answered  him  seriously  enough  —  even  gravely. 

"  The  prophet  has  spoken,"  I  said.  "  I  must  obey ! 
I  shall  start  with  Charing  Cross." 


12  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   II 

WHY  the  man  should  have  spoken  to  me  at  all 
I  could  not  tell.  Yet  it  is  certain  that  I 
heard  his  simple  and  courteous  inquiry  with  a  thrill 
of  pleasure,  not  unmixed  with  excitement.  From 
the  first  moment  of  my  arrival  upon  the  platform  I 
had  singled  him  out,  the  only  interesting  figure  in  a 
crowd  of  nonentities.  Perhaps  I  had  lingered  a  little 
too  closely  by  his  side,  had  manifested  more  curiosity 
in  him  than  was  altogether  seemly.  At  any  rate,  he 
spoke  to  me. 

"  Do  you  know  if  the  Continental  train  is  punc- 
tual ?  "  he  asked. 

"  I  have  no  idea,"  I  answered.  "  This  guard  would 
tell  us,  perhaps." 

"  Signalled  in,  sir,"  the  man  declared.  "  Two 
minutes  late  only." 

My  new  acquaintance  thanked  me  and  lit  a  ciga- 
rette. He  seemed  in  no  hurry  to  depart,  and  I  was 
equally  anxious  to  engage  him  in  conversation.  For 
although  he  was  dressed  with  the  trim  and  quiet 
precision  of  the  foreigner  or  man  of  affairs,  there 
'was  something  about  his  beardless  face,  his  broadly 
humorous  mouth,  and  easy,  nonchalant  bearing  which 
suggested  the  person  who  juggled  always  with  the 
ball  of  life. 

"  Marvellous ! "  he  murmured,  looking  after  the 
guard.  "  Two  minutes  late  from  Paris  —  and  per- 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  13 

haps  beyond.  It  is  a  wonderful  service.  Now,  if  I 
had  come  to  meet  any  one,  and  had  a  pressing  ap- 
pointment immediately  afterwards,  this  train  would 
have  been  an  hour  late.  As  it  is  —  ah,  well,  one  is 
foolish  to  grumble,"  he  added,  with  a  little  shrug  of 
the  shoulders. 

"  You,  like  me,  then,"  I  remarked,  "  are  a  loi- 
terer." 

He  flashed  a  keen  glance  upon  me. 

"  I  see  that  I  have  met,"  he  said  slowly,  "  witH 
someone  of  similar  tastes  to  my  own.  I  will  con- 
fess at  once  that  you  are  right.  For  myself  I  feel 
that  there  is  nothing  more  interesting  in  this  great 
city  of  yours  than  to  watch  the  people  coming  and 
going  from  it.  All  your  railway  stations  fascinate 
me,  especially  those  which  are  the  connecting  links 
with  other  countries.  Perhaps  it  is  because  I  am 
an  idle  man,  and  must  needs  find  amusement  some- 
where." 

"  Yet,"  I  objected,  "  for  a  single  face  or  person- 
ality which  is  suggestive,  one  sees  a  thousand  of  the 
type  which  only  irritates  —  the  great  rank  and  file 
of  the  commonplace.  I  wonder,  after  all,  -whether 
the  game  is  worth  the  candle." 

"  One  in  a  thousand,"  he  repeated  thoughtfully. 
"  Yet  think  what  that  one  may  mean  —  a  walking 
drama,  a  tragedy,  a  comedy,  an  epitome  of  life  or 
death.  There  is  more  to  be  read  in  the  face  of  that 
one  than  in  the  three  hundred  pages  of  the  novel 
over  which  we  yawn  ourselves  to  sleep.  Here  is  the 
train !  Now  let  us  watch  the  people  together  —  that 
is,  if  you  really  mean  that  you  have  no  friends  to 
look  out  for." 


14 

"  I  really  mean  it,"  I  assured  him.  "  I  am  here 
out  of  the  idlest  curiosity.  I  am  by  profession  a 
scribbler,  and  I  am  in  search  of  an  idea." 

Once  more  he  regarded  me  curiously. 

"  Your  name  is  Greatson,  is  it  not  —  Arnold  Great- 
son  ?  You  were  pointed  out  to  me  once  at  the  Vaga- 
bonds' Club,  and  I  never  forget  a  face.  Here  they 
come !  Look !  Look !  " 

The  train  had  come  to  a  standstill.  People  were 
streaming  out  upon  the  platform.  My  companion 
laid  his  fingers  upon  my  arm.  He  talked  rapidly 
but  lightly. 

:<  You  see  them,  my  young  friend,"  he  exclaimed. 
"  Those  are  returning  tourists  from  Switzerland ;  the 
thin,  sharp-featured  girl  there,  with  a  plaid  skirt  and 
a  satchel,  is  an  American.  Heavens !  how  she  talks ! 
She  has  lost  a  trunk.  The  whole  system  will  be 
turned  upside  down  until  she  has  found  it  or  been 
compensated.  The  two  young  men  with  her  are 
silent.  They  are  wise.  Alone  she  will  prevail.  You 
see  the  man  of  commerce ;  he  is  off  already.  He  has 
been  to  France,  perhaps  to  Belgium  also,  to  buy  silks 
and  laces.  And  the  stout  old  gentleman?  See  how 
happy  he  looks  to  be  back  again  where  English  is 
spoken,  and  he  can  pay  his  way  in  half-crowns  and 
shillings.  You  see  the  milliner's  head-woman,  dressed 
with  obtrusive  smartness,  though  everything  seems  a 
little  awry.  She  has  been  over  to  Paris  for  the 
fashions ;  in  a  few  days  her  firm  will  send  out  a  little 
circular,  and  Hampstead  or  Balham  will  be  much 
impressed.  And  —  what  do  you  make  of  those  two, 
my  young  friend?" 

It  seemed  to  me  that  my  companion's  tone  was 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  15 

changed,  that  his  whole  appearance  was  different.  I 
was  suddenly  conscious  of  an  irresistible  conviction. 
I  did  not  believe  any  longer  that  he  was,  like  me,  an 
idle  loiterer  here.  I  felt  that  his  presence  had  a  pur- 
pose, and  that  it  was  connected  in  some  measure  with 
the  two  people  to  whom  my  attention  was  so  suddenly 
drawn.  They  were,  in  that  somewhat  heterogeneous 
crowd,  sufficiently  noticeable.  The  man,  although  he 
assumed  the  jauntiness  of  youth,  was  past  middle- 
age,  and  his  mottled  cheeks,  his  thin,  watery  eyes, 
and  thick  red  neck  were  the  unmistakeable  hall-marks 
of  years  of  self-indulgence.  He  was  well  dressed 
and  groomed,  and  his  demeanour  towards  his  com- 
panion was  one  of  deferential  good  humour.  She, 
however,  was  a  person  of  a  very  different  order.  She 
was  a  girl  apparently  between  fifteen  and  sixteen,  her 
figure  as  yet  undeveloped,  her  dresses  a  little  too 
short.  Her  face  was  small  and  white,  her  mouth 
had  a  most  pathetic  droop,  and  in  her  eyes  —  won- 
derful, deep  blue  eyes  —  there  was  a  curious  look  of 
shrinking  fear,  beneath  which  flashed  every  now  and 
then  a  gleam  of  positive  terror.  Her  dark  hair  was 
arranged  in  a  thick  straight  fringe  upon  her  fore- 
head, and  in  a  long  plait  behind,  after  the  school- 
girl fashion.  Notwithstanding  the  gaucherie  of  her 
years  and  her  apparent  unhappiness,  she  carried  her- 
self with  a  certain  dignity  and  grace  of  movement 
which  were  wonderfully  impressive.  I  watched  her 
admiringly. 

"  They  are  rather  a  puzzle,"  I  admitted.  "  I  sup- 
pose they  might  very  well  be  father  and  daughter. 
It  is  certain  that  she  is  fresh  from  some  convent 
boarding-school.  I  don't  like  the  way  she  looks  at  the 


i6  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

man,  do  you?  It  is  as  though  she  were  terrified  to 
death.  I  wonder  if  he  is  her  father?" 

My  companion  did  not  answer  me.  He  was  strain- 
ing forward  as  though  anxious  to  hear  the  instruc- 
tions which  the  man  was  giving  to  a  porter  about  the 
luggage;  my  presence  seemed  to  be  a  thing  which 
he  had  wholly  forgotten.  The  girl  stood  for  a  mo- 
ment alone.  More  than  ever  one  seemed  to  perceive  in 
her  eyes  the  nameless  fear  of  the  hunted  animal.  She 
looked  around  her  furtively,  yet  with  a  strange,  half- 
veiled  wildness  in  her  dilated  eyes.  I  should  scarcely 
have  been  surprised  to  have  seen  her  make  a  sudden 
dash  for  freedom.  Presently,  however,  the  man,  hav- 
ing identified  all  his  luggage,  turned  towards  her. 

"  That 's  all  right,"  he  declared  cheerfully.  "  Now 
I  think  that  I  shall  take  you  straight  away  for  lunch 
somewhere,  and  then  we  must  go  to  the  shops.  Are 
you  hungry,  Isobel  ?  " 

"I  —  I  do  not  know,"  she  answered,  so  tremu- 
lously that  the  words  scarcely  reached  us,  though  we 
were  standing  only  a  few  feet  away. 

"  We  will  soon  find  out,"  he  said.  "  Hansom, 
there!  Cafe  Grand!" 

The  cab  drove  off,  and  I  realized  then  how  com- 
pletely for  the  last  few  moments  I  had  forgotten  my 
companion.  I  turned  to  look  for  him,  and  found  him 
standing  close  to  my  side.  He  was  apparently  ab- 
sorbed in  thought,  and  seemed  to  have  lost  all  inter- 
est in  our  surroundings.  His  hands  were  thrust  deep 
in  his  overcoat  pockets,  and  his  eyes  were  fixed  upon 
the  ground.  The  stream  of  people  from  the  train 
had  melted  away  now,  and  we  were  almost  alone 
upon  the  platform.  I  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  17 

then  walked  slowly  off.  I  did  not  wish  to  seem  dis- 
courteous to  the  man  with  whom  I  had  exchanged  a 
few  remarks  more  intimate  than  those  which  usually 
pass  between  strangers,  but  he  had  distinctly  the  air 
of  one  wishing  to  be  alone,  and  I  was  unwilling  to 
seem  intrusive.  I  had  barely  taken  a  dozen  steps, 
however,  before  I  was  overtaken.  My  companion  of 
a  few  minutes  before  was  again  by  my  side.  All 
traces  of  his  recent  preoccupation  seemed  to  have 
vanished.  He  was  smoking  a  fresh  cigarette,  and 
his  bright,  deep-set  eyes  were  lit  with  gentle  mirth. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Novelist,"  he  exclaimed,  "  have  you 
succeeded?  Is  your  languid  muse  stirred?  Have 
you  seen  a  face,  a  look,  a  gesture  —  anything  to 
prick  your  imagination  ?  " 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders. 

"  I  have  seen  one  thing,"  I  answered,  "  which  it 
is  not  easy  to  forget.  I  have  seen  fear,  and  very 
pathetic  it  was." 

"You  mean ?" 

"  In  the  face  of  that  child,  or  rather  girl,  with  that 
coarse-looking  brute  of  a  man." 

The  light  seemed  to  die  out  from  my  companion's 
face.  Once  more  he  became  stern  and  thoughtful. 

"  Yes,"  he  agreed ;  "  I  too  saw  that.  If  one  were 
looking  for  tragedy,  one  might  perhaps  find  it 
there." 

We  stood  now  together  on  the  pavement  outside 
the  station.  My  companion  glanced  at  his  watch. 

"  Come,"  he  said ;  "  I  have  a  fancy  that  you  and 
I  might  exchange  a  few  ideas.  I  am  a  lonely  man, 
and  to-day  I  am  not  in  the  humour  for  solitude.  Do 
me  the  favour  to  lunch  with  me ! " 


l«  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  did  not  hesitate  for  a  moment.  It  was  exactly 
the  sort  of  invitation  which  I  had  coveted. 

"  I  shall  be  delighted,"  I  answered. 

"  I  myself,"  my  companion  continued,  "  have  no 
gift  for  writing.  My  talents,  such  as  they  are,  lie  in 
a  different  direction.  But  I  have  been  in  many  coun- 
tries, and  adventures  have  come  to  me  of  various 
sorts.  I  may  be  able  even  to  start  you  on  your  way 
—  if,  indeed,  the  author  of  The  Lost  Princess  is  ever 
short  of  an  idea." 

I  smiled. 

"  I  can  assure  you,"  I  said,  "  that  my  pilgrimage 
this  morning  has  no  other  object  than  to  find  one. 
I  begin  to  fear  that  I  have  written  too  much  lately. 
At  any  rate,  the  well  of  my  inspiration,  if  I  may  use 
so  grandiloquent  a  term,  has  run  dry." 

He  put  up  his  stick  and  hailed  a  hansom. 

"  After  all,"  he  said,  "  it  is  possible  —  yes,  it  is 
possible  that  you  may  succeed.  Adventures  wait  for 
us  everywhere,  if  only  we  go  about  in  a  proper 
frame  of  mind.  .We  will  lunch,  I  think,  at  the  Cafe 
Grand." 

I  followed  my  prospective  host  into  the  cab.  Was 
it  altogether  a  coincidence,  I  wondered,  that  we  were 
bound  for  the  same  restaurant  whither  the  man  and 
the  girl  had  preceded  us  a  few  minutes  before? 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  19 


CHAPTER   III 

MR.  GROOTEN,  as  my  new  acquaintance  called 
himself,  belied  neither  his  appearance  nor  his 
modest  reference  to  himself.  He  proved  at  once  that 
he  knew  how  to  order  a  satisfactory  luncheon,  going 
through  the  menu  with  the  quiet  deliberation  of  a 
connoisseur,  neither  seeking  nor  accepting  any  advice 
from  the  dark-visaged  waiter  who  stood  by  his  side, 
and  finally  writing  out  his  few  carefully  chosen  dishes 
with  a  special  postscript  as  to  the  coffee,  which,  by- 
the-bye,  we  were  never  to  taste.  He  then  leaned  over 
the  table  and  began  to  talk. 

Apparently  my  host  had  been  in  every  country  of 
the  world,  and  mixed  with  people  of  note  in  each. 
His  anecdotes  were  always  pungent,  personal  with- 
out being  egotistical,  and  savoured  always  with  a 
certain  dry  and  perfectly  natural  humour.  I  found 
myself  both  interested  and  fascinated  by  his  constant 
flow  of  reminiscences,  and  yet  at  times  my  attention 
wandered.  For  within  a  few  yards  of  us  were  seated 
the  man  and  the  child. 

Everything  that  was  noticeable  in  their  demeanour 
towards  one  another  at  the  station  was  even  more 
apparent  here.  A  bottle  of  champagne  stood  upon 
the  table.  The  man  had  ordered  such  a  luncheon 
that  the  head-waiter  was  seldom  far  from  his  side, 
and  the  manager  in  person  had  come  to  pay  his  re- 
spects. He  himself  was  apparently  doing  full  justice 


20  THE   MASTER    MUMMER" 

to  it.  His  cheeks  were  flushed,  his  eyes  moist,  and 
his  little  bursts  of  laughter  as  he  persevered  in  his 
attentions  to  his  companion  grew  louder  and  more 
frequent.  But  opposite  to  him,  the  child's  face  was 
unchanged.  Her  glass  was  full  of  wine,  but  she 
seemed  never  to  touch  it.  Her  long  white  fingers 
played  with  her  bread,  but  she  seemed  to  eat  little 
or  nothing.  Her  face  was  pallid  and  drawn;  there 
was  terror  —  absolute,  undiluted  terror  —  in  her  un- 
naturally large  eyes.  Often  when  the  man  spoke  to 
her  she  shivered.  Her  eyes  seemed  constantly  trying 
to  escape  his  gaze,  wandering  round  the  room,  the 
terror  of  a  hunted  animal  in  their  soft,  luminous 
depths.  Once  they  rested  upon  mine  —  I  was  seated 
in  the  corner  facing  her  —  and  it  seemed  to  me  that 
there  was  appeal  —  desperate,  frenzied  appeal  —  in 
that  long,  tense  look  which  thrilled  all  my  pulses 
with  passionate  sympathy.  Yet  she  held  herself  all 
the  while  stiff  and  erect.  There  was  a  certain  sus- 
taining pride  in  her  close,  firm-set  mouth.  There 
was  never  any  sign  of  tears,  though  more  than  once 
her  lips  parted  for  a  moment  in  a  pitiful  quiver. 

The  table  at  which  we  were  sitting  was  just  inside 
the  door,  in  the  left-hand  corner.  The  man  and  the 
girl  were  upon  the  opposite  side,  and  a  few  yards 
further  in  the  room.  My  host,  with  his  face  to  the 
door,  could  see  neither  of  them,  therefore,  without 
turning  round,  and  owing  to  our  table  being  pushed 
far  into  the  corner,  only  his  back  was  visible  to  the 
people  in  the  restaurant.  I,  sitting  facing  him,  had 
an  excellent  view  of  the  girl  and  her  companion,  and 
I  was  all  the  while  a  witness  of  the  silent  drama 
being  played  out  between  the  two.  There  came  a 


21 

time  when  I  felt  that  I  could  stand  it  no  longer.  I 
leaned  over  our  small  table,  and  interrupted  my  com- 
panion in  the  middle  of  a  story. 

"  Forgive  me,"  I  said,  "  but  I  wish  you  could  see 
that  child's  face.  There  is  something  wrong,  I  am 
sure.  She  is  terrified  to  death.  Look,  that  brute  is 
trying  to  force  her  to  drink  her  wine.  I  really  can't 
sit  and  watch  it  any  longer." 

The  man  who  was  my  host,  and  who  had  called 
himself  Mr.  Grooten,  nodded  his  head  slightly.  I 
knew  at  once,  however,  that  he  was  in  close  sym- 
pathy with  me. 

"  I  have  been  watching  them,"  he  said.  "  There 
is  a  mirror  over  your  head ;  I  have  seen  everything. 
It  is  a  hideous-looking  affair,  but  what  can  one 
do?" 

"  I  know  what  I  am  going  to  do,  at  any  rate,"  I 
said,  laying  my  serviette  deliberately  upon  the  table. 
"  I  don't  care  what  happens,  but  I  am  going  to 
speak  to  the  child." 

Mr.  Grooten  raised  his  eyebrows.  Beyond  this 
faint  expression  of  surprise  his  face  betrayed  neither 
approval  nor  disapproval. 

"  What  will  you  gain  ?  "  he  asked. 

"Probably  nothing,"  I  answered..  "And  yet  I 
shall  try  all  the  same.  I  dare  not  go  away  with  the 
memory  of  that  child's  face  haunting  me.  I  must 
make  an  effort,  even  though  it  seems  ridiculous.  I 
can't  help  it." 

My  companion  smiled  softly. 

"  As  you  will,  my  impetuous  young  friend,"  he 
said.  "  This  promises  to  be  interesting.  I  will  await 
your  return." 


22  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  did  not  hesitate  any  longer.  I  rose  to  my  feet, 
and  crossed  the  space  which  lay  between  the  two 
tables.  As  I  drew  nearer  to  her  I  watched  the 
child's  face.  At  first  a  flash  of  desperate  hope 
seemed  suddenly  to  illumine  it;  then  a  fear  more 
abject  even  than  before  took  its  place  as  she  glanced 
at  her  companion.  She  watched  me  come,  reading 
without  a  doubt  the  purpose  in  my  mind  with  a  sort 
of  fascinated  wonder.  Her  eyes  were  still  fastened 
upon  mine  when  at  last  I  paused  before  her.  I 
leaned  over  the  table,  keeping  my  shoulder  turned 
upon  the  man. 

"  You  will  forgive  me,"  I  said  to  her  in  a  low  tone, 
"  but  I  believe  that  you  are  in  trouble.  Can  I  help 
you?  Don't  be  afraid  to  tell  me  if  I  can." 

"  You  —  you  are  very  kind,  sir,"  she  began,  breath- 
lessly; "I " 

Her  companion  intervened.  Astonishment  and 
anger  combined  to  render  his  voice  unsteady. 

"  Eh?  What 's  this?  Who  the  devil  are  you,  sir, 
and  what  do  you  mean  by  speaking  to  my  ward  ?  " 

I  disregarded  his  interruption  altogether.  I  still 
addressed  myself  only  to  the  child,  and  I  spoke  as 
encouragingly  as  I  could. 

"Don't  be  afraid  to  tell  me,"  I  said.  "Think 
that  I  am  your  brother.  I  want  to  help  you  if  I 
can." 

"  Oh,  if  you  only  could ! "  she  moaned. 

Her  companion  seized  me  by  the  arm  and  forced 
me  to  turn  round.  His  face  was  red  almost  to  suffo- 
cation, and  two  thick  blue  veins  stood  out  upon  his 
forehead  in  ugly  fashion.  His  voice  was  scarcely 
articulate  by  reason  of  his  attempt  to  keep  it  low. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  23 

"  Of  all  the  infernal  impertinence !  What  do  you 
mean  by  it,  sir?  Who  are  you?  How  dare  you 
force  yourself  upon  strangers  in  this  fashion  ?  " 

"  I  am  quite  aware  that  I  am  doing  an  unusual 
thing,"  I  answered,  "  and  I  perhaps  deserve  all  that 
you  can  say  to  me.  At  the  same  time,  I  am  here  to 
have  my  question  answered.  You  have  a  child  with 
you  who  is  apparently  terrified  to  death.  I  insist 
upon  hearing  from  her  own  lips  whether  she  is  in 
need  of  friends." 

White  and  mute,  she  looked  from  one  to  the  other. 
It  was  the  man  who  answered. 

"  If  this  were  not  a  public  place,"  he  said,  still 
struggling  with  his  anger,  "  I  'd  punish  you  as  you 
deserve,  you  impudent  young  cub.  This  young  lady 
is  my  ward,  and  I  have  just  brought  her  from  a  con- 
vent, where  she  has  lived  since  she  was  three  years 
old.  She  is  strange  and  shy,  of  course,  and  I  was 
perhaps  wrong  to  bring  her  to  a  public  place.  I  did 
it,  however,  out  of  kindness.  I  wanted  her  to  enjoy 
herself,  but  I  perhaps  did  not  appreciate  her  sensi- 
tiveness and  the  fact  that  only  a  few  days  ago  she 
parted  with  the  friends  with  whom  she  has  lived  all 
her  life.  Now,  sir,"  he  added,  with  a  sneer  upon  his 
coarse  lips,  "  I  have  been  compelled  to  answer  your 
questions  to  avoid  a  disturbance  in  a  public  place ;  but 
I  promise  you  that  if  you  do  not  make  yourself  scarce 
in  thirty  seconds  I  will  send  for  the  manager." 

I  looked  once  more  at  the  child,  from  whose  white, 
set  face  every  gleam  of  hope  seemed  to  have  fled. 

"  I  can  do  nothing  for  you,  then?  "  I  asked. 

Her  eyes  met  mine  helplessly.  She  shook  her  head. 
She  did  not  speak  at  all. 


"  Is  it  true  —  what  he  has  told  me  ?  "  I  asked. 

She  murmured  an  assent  so  faint,  that  though  I 
was  bending  over  her,  it  scarcely  did  more  than  reach 
my  ears.  I  could  do  no  more.  I  turned  away  and 
resumed  my  seat.  Grooten  smiled  at  me. 

"Well,  Sir  Knight  Errant,"  he  said  lightly;  "so 
you  could  not  free  the  maiden  ?  " 

"  I  was  made  to  feel  and  look  like  a  fool,  of 
course,"  I  answered,  "  but  I  don't  mind  about  that. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  am  not  satisfied  now.  The 
man  says  that  he  is  her  guardian,  and  that  he  has 
just  brought  her  from  a  convent,  where  she  has  lived 
all  her  life.  He  vouchsafed  to  explain  things  to  me 
to  avoid  a  row,  but  he  was  desperately  angry.  She 
has  never  been  out  of  the  convent  since  she  was  three 
years  old,  and  she  is  very  nervous  and  shy.  That  was 
his  story,  and  he  told  it  plausibly  enough.  I  could 
not  get  anything  out  of  her,  except  an  admission  that 
what  he  said  was  the  truth." 

Mr.  Grooten  nodded  thoughtfully. 

"  After  all,"  he  said,  "  she  is  only  a  child,  fourteen 
or  fifteen  at  the  most,  I  should  suppose.  I  have  paid 
the  bill,  and,  as  you  see,  I  have  my  coat  on.  Are  you 
ready?" 

"  Directly  I  have  finished  my  coffee,"  I  answered. 
"  It  looks  too  good  to  leave." 

"  Finish  it,  by  all  means,"  he  answered.  "  I  am 
in  no  particular  hurry.  By-the-bye,  I  forget  whether 
I  showed  you  this." 

He  drew  a  small  shining  weapon,  with  rather  a 
long  barrel,  from  his  pocket,  but  though  he  invited 
me  to  inspect  it,  he  retained  it  in  his  own  hand. 

"  I  bought  it  in  New  York  a  few  months  ago,"  he 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  25 

remarked ;  "  it  is  the  latest  weapon  of  destruction 
invented." 

"  Is  it  a  revolver?  "  I  asked,  a  little  puzzled  by  its 
shape. 

"  Not  exactly,"  he  answered,  fingering  it  carelessly; 
"  it  is  in  reality  a  sort  of  air-gun,  with  a  wonderful 
compression,  and  a  most  ingenious  silencer;  quite  as 
deadly,  they  say,  as  any  firearm  ever  invented.  It 
ejects  a  cylindrically-shaped  bullet,  tapered  down  al- 
most to  the  fineness  of  a  needle.  Now,"  he  added, 
with  a  faint  smile  and  a  rapid  glance  round  the 
room,  "  if  only  one  dared  —  "  he  turned  in  his  chair, 
and  I  saw  the  thing  steal  out  below  his  cuff,  "  one 
could  free  the  child  quite  easily  —  quite  easily." 

It  was  all  over  in  a  moment  —  a  wonderful,  tense 
moment,  during  which  I  sat  frozen  to  my  chair, 
stricken  dumb  and  motionless  with  the  tragedy  which 
it  seemed  that  I  alone  had  witnessed.  For  there  had 
been  a  little  puff  of  sound,  so  slight  that  no  other  ears 
had  noticed  it.  The  seat  in  front  of  me  was  empty, 
and  the  man  on  my  right  had  fallen  forwards,  his 
hand  pressed  to  his  side,  his  face  curiously  livid, 
patchy  with  streaks  of  dark  colour,  his  eyes  bulbous. 
Waiters  still  hurried  to  and  fro,  the  hum  of  conver- 
sation was  uninterrupted.  And  then  suddenly  it  came 
—  a  cry  of  breathless  horror,  of  mortal  unexpected 
agony  —  a  cry,  it  seemed,  of  death.  The  waiters 
stopped  in  their  places  to  gaze  breathlessly  at  the 
spot  from  which  the  cry  had  come,  a  silver  dish  fell 
clattering  from  the  fingers  of  one,  and  its  contents 
rolled  unnoticed  about  the  floor.  The  murmur  of 
voices,  the  rise  and  fall  of  laughter  and  speech, 
ceased  as  though  an  unseen  finger  had  been  pressed 


26  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

upon  the  lips  of  everyone  in  the  room.  Men  rose  in 
their  places,  women  craned  their  necks.  For  a  second 
or  two  the  whole  place  was  like  a  tableau  of  arrested 
motion.  Then  there  was  a  rush  towards  the  table 
across  which  the  man  had  fallen,  a  doubled-up  heap. 
A  few  feet  away,  with  only  that  narrow  margin  of 
table-cloth  between  them,  the  girl  sat  and  stared  at 
him,  still  white  and  panic-stricken,  yet  with  a  curious 
change  in  her  face  from  which  all  the  dumb  terror 
which  had  first  attracted  my  attention  seemed  to  have 
passed  away. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  2% 


CHAPTER   IV 

THE  manager,  who  was  very  flurried,  closed  the 
door  of  the  little  room  into  which  the  wounded 
man  had  been  carried. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  his  name,  or  shall  we  look  for 
his  card-case?  "  he  asked. 

I  glanced  towards  the  child.  She  was  by  far  the 
most  composed  of  the  three.  Only  she  remained  with 
her  back  turned  steadily  upon  the  sofa. 

"  His  name  is  Delahaye,"  she  said ;  "  Major  Sir 
William  Delahaye,  I  think  they  called  him." 

"  And  where  does  he  live  —  in  London?  Tell  me 
his  address.  I  will  send  a  cab  there  at  once! " 

"  I  do  not  know  his  address,"  the  child  answered. 
"  I  do  not  know  where  he  lives." 

The  manager  stared  at  her. 

"You  were  with  him,  were  you  not?"  he  asked. 

"  Yes." 

"  Then  surely  you  must  know  something  more 
about  him  than  just  his  name?" 

"  He  called  himself  my  guardian.  I  believe  that 
when  I  was  very  young  he  took  me  to  the  convent 
where  I  have  been  ever  since.  Two  days  ago  he  came 
to  fetch  me  away." 

"  What  is  your  name?  " 

"  Isobel  de  Sorrens !  " 

"  You  are  not  related  to  him,  then  ?  " 


28  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

She  shuddered  a  little. 

"  I  hope  not,"  she  said  simply. 

"Well,  where  was  he  taking  you  to?"  the  man- 
ager asked  impatiently.  "  Surely  there  must  be  some- 
one I  can  send  to." 

"  I  believe  that  he  has  a  house  in  London,"  the 
child  said.  "  I  really  do  not  know  anything  more. 
You  could  send  to  Madame  Richard  at  the  Convent 
St.  Argueil.  I  suppose  she  knows  all  about  him.  She 
told  me  that  I  was  to  consider  him  my  guardian." 

The  manager  turned  to  me.  I  was  an  occasional 
customer,  and  he  knew  who  I  was. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  anything  about  him,  Mr.  Great- 
son  ?  The  doctor  will  be  here  in  a  moment,  but  I  feel 
that  I  ought  to  be  sending  for  some  of  his  friends.  I 
am  afraid  that  he  is  very  ill." 

"  You  were  not  in  the  room  at  the  time  it  hap- 
pened?" I  remarked. 

The  manager  shook  his  head. 

"  No,  I  was  in  the  office." 

"  Have  you  sent  for  the  police?  "  I  asked. 

"  Police,  no !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  What  have  the 
police  to  do  with  it?  It  was  an  ordinary  fit, 
surely." 

I  felt  that  I  had  held  my  peace  long  enough. 

"  It  was  not  a  fit  at  all,"  I  said  gravely.  "  He  was 
shot  with  a  sort  of  air-gun  by  a  man  sitting  at  my 
table.  I  think  that  you  ought  to  send  for  the  police 
at  once.  The  man's  name  was  Grooten,  but  I  know 
nothing  else  about  him." 

The  manager  was  for  a  moment  speechless.  The 
child  looked  at  me  eagerly. 

"  It  was  the  little  old  gentleman  who  was  sitting 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  29 

with  you  who  did  it,"  she  exclaimed.  "  I  saw  him 
at  Charing  Cross." 

"  Yes,  it  was  he ! "  I  answered. 

The  child  turned  away. 

"  Perhaps  after  all,  then,"  she  murmured  to  her- 
self, "  I  may  have  friends  in  the  world." 

The  manager,  whose  name  was  Huber,  was  in- 
clined to  be  incredulous. 

"  An  air-gun  would  have  made  as  much  noise  as  a 
revolver,"  he  said.  "  Are  you  sure  of  what  you  say, 
Mr.  Greatson?" 

"  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  about  it,"  I  answered, 
"  and  you  ought  to  inform  the  police  at  once.  This 
man  —  Grooten,  he  called  himself  —  pulled  the  pistol 
out  of  his  pocket,  and  was  pretending  to  show  it  to 
me  when  he  fired  the  shot.  He  told  me  that  it  was  a 
new  invention  which  he  had  bought  in  America,  and 
which  was  quite  noiseless." 

The  manager  hurried  from  the  room.  The  child 
and  I  were  alone,  except  for  the  man  on  the  couch. 
Every  now  and  then  he  groaned  —  a  sound  I  could 
not  hear  without  a  shiver.  The  child,  however,  was 
unmoved.  She  fixed  her  dark  eyes  on  me. 

"  Do  you  think  that  he  will  get  away  ?  "  she  asked 
eagerly. 

"  You  mean  the  man  who  shot  Major  Delahaye?  " 

"  Yes." 

"  I  think  that  it  is  very  likely.  He  has  a  good  start, 
and  I  expect  that  he  had  made  his  arrangements." 

"  I  hope  he  does,"  she  murmured  passionately.  "  I 
wish  that  I  could  help  him." 

"  You  have  no  idea  who  he  was  ?  "  I  asked.  "  I 
do  not  believe  that  Grooten  was  his  real  name." 


30  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  have  never  seen  him  before  in  my  life,"  she 
said.  "  If  I  did  know  I  should  not  tell  anyone." 

The  doctor  came  at  last.  In  reality  it  was  barely 
five  minutes  since  he  had  been  sent  for,  but  time 
dragged  itself  along  slowly  in  that  little  room. 
Directly  afterwards  Huber,  the  manager,  returned, 
followed  by  a  sergeant  of  the  police.  We  all  waited 
for  the  doctor's  examination.  I  fetched  a  chair  for 
the  child,  and  she  thanked  me  with  a  wan  little  smile. 
Always  she  sat  with  her  back  to  the  sofa.  There 
was  something  terribly  suggestive  in  her  utter  lack 
of  sympathy  with  the  wounded  man. 

The  doctor  finished  his  examination  at  last.  He 
came  towards  us. 

"  The  wound  is  a  very  curious  one,"  he  said,  "  and 
I  am  afraid  that  the  bullet  will  be  difficult  to  extract, 
but  it  is  not  in  itself  serious.  It  is  really  only  a  flesh 
wound,  but  the  man  is  suffering  from  severe  shock, 
and  I  don't  like  the  action  of  his  heart.  He  can  be 
removed  quite  safely.  If  you  like  I  will  telephone 
for  an  ambulance  and  take  him  to  the  hospital.  Do 
you  know  anything  about  this  affair,  sergeant?" 

"  Very  little  as  yet,  sir,"  the  man  answered.  "  I 
want  this  gentleman's  description  of  the  person  who 
showed  him  the  pistol.  The  commissionaire  saw  him 
leave,  I  understand,  and  one  of  the  waiters  saw  some- 
thing in  his  hand.  Was  he  a  friend  of  yours,  sir  ?  " 

"  I  only  know  his  name,"  I  answered.  "  He  called 
himself  Mr.  Grooten,  and  I  judged  him  to  be  a  for- 
eigner, though  he  spoke  perfect  English.  He  seemed 
to  be  about  fifty  years  old,  clean-shaven,  and  of  under 
medium  height." 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  31 

"  Too  vague,"  the  sergeant  remarked.  "  Had  he 
any  peculiarity  of  feature  or  expression,  anything 
which  would  help  towards  identification?" 

"  None  that  I  can  remember,"  I  answered. 

"  How  was  he  dressed  ?  " 

"  Quietly.  I  could  not  remember  anything  that  he 
wore." 

"  Did  he  give  you  any  idea  of  his  intention  ?  Did 
he  speak  of  Major  Delahaye  at  all  as  though  he  knew 
him?" 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  We  simply  both  remarked,"  I  said  slowly,  "  that 
this  —  young  lady  seemed  to  be  very  frightened  of 
her  companion,  and  I  do  not  think  that  we  formed  a 
favourable  impression  of  him.  He  gave  me  not  the 
slightest  intimation,  however, .  of  his  intention  to 
interfere." 

"  It  could  not  have  been  an  accident,  I  suppose?  " 
Mr.  Huber  suggested. 

"  I  might  have  thought  so,"  I  answered,  "  if  he 
had  not  immediately  left  the  place.  He  disappeared 
so  quickly  that  I  did  not  even  see  him  go." 

"  You  sat  by  accident  at  the  same  table?  "  the  ser- 
geant asked. 

"  No,  we  came  together,"  I  answered.  "  We  met 
at  Charing  Cross,  and  he  spoke  to  me.  He  knew  my 
name,  and  reminded  me  that  we  had  once  met  at  the 
'  Vagabonds'  Club.' ' 

"  Did  you  remember  him?  " 

"  I  cannot  say  that  I  did,"  I  answered. 

"And  afterwards?" 

"  We  talked  together  for  some  time,  and  when  we 
left  the  station  he  asked  me  to  lunch  here." 


32  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Did  he  arrive  by  train,  or  was  he  meeting  any- 
one at  Charing  Cross?"  the  sergeant  asked. 

"  Neither,  so  far  as  I  could  see,"  I  answered.  "  He 
seemed  to  be  simply  loitering.  I  ought  to  tell  you, 
though,  that  we  saw  Major  Delahaye  and  this  young 
lady  arrive  by  the  Continental  train,  and  he  seemed 
to  be  interested  in  them." 

The  sergeant  turned  to  Isobel. 

"  Did  you  know  him  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No,"  she  answered.  "  I  did  not  notice  him  at 
the  station  at  all.  I  saw  that  he  was  sitting  at  the 
same  table  downstairs  as  this  gentleman,  but  I  am 
quite  sure  that  I  have  never  seen  him  before  in  my 
life." 

The  sergeant  put  away  his  pocket-book. 

"  I  am  very  sorry  to  trouble  you,"  he  said,  "  but 
I  think  it  would  be  better  for  you  all  to  come  to  Bow 
Street  and  see  the  superintendent." 

"  I  am  quite  willing  to  do  so,"  I  answered,  "  though 
I  can  tell  him  no  more  than  I  have  told  you." 

The  child  moved  suddenly  towards  me.  Her  thin, 
shabbily  gloved  ringers  gripped  my  arm  with  almost 
painful  force.  Her  eyes  were  full  of  passionate 
appeal. 

"  I  may  go  with  you,"  she  murmured.  "  You  will 
not  leave  me  alone  ?  " 

"  The  young  lady  will  be  required  also,"  the  ser- 
geant remarked. 

"  We  will  go  together,  of  course,"  I  said  gently. 
"Come!" 


CHAPTER   V 

WE  crossed  the  road  from  the  police-station, 
and  found  ourselves  in  one  of  the  narrow 
streets  fringing  Covent  Garden.  The  air  was  fra- 
grant here  with  the  perfume  of  white  and  purple 
lilac,  great  baskets  full  of  which  were  piled  up  in 
the  gutter.  The  girl  half  closed  her  eyes. 

"  Delicious !  "  she  murmured.  "  This  reminds  me 
of  St.  Argeuil!  You  have  flowers  too,  then,  in 
London?" 

I  bought  her  a  handful,  which  she  sniffed  and  held 
to  her  face  with  delight. 

"  Ah !  "  she  said  a  little  sadly.  "  I  had  forgotten 
that  there  were  any  beautiful  things  left  in  the  world. 
Thank  you  so  much,  Mr.  Arnold." 

"  At  your  age,"  I  said  cheerfully,  "  you  will  soon 
find  out  that  the  world — even  London — is  a  treasure- 
house  of  beautiful  things." 

She  looked  down  the  narrow,  untidy  street,  strewn 
with  the  refuse  from  the  market  waggons  and  trucks 
which  blocked  the  way,  making  all  but  pedestrian 
traffic  an  impossibility  —  at  the  piles  of  empty  baskets 
in  the  gutter,  and  the  slatternly  crowd  of  loiterers. 
Then  she  looked  up  at  me  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  London  —  is  not  all  like  this,  then  ?  "  she  re- 
marked. 

I  shook  my  head. 

3 


34  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  This  is  a  back  street,  almost  a  slum,"  I  said.  "  I 
daresay  you  have  lived  in  the  country  always,  and 
just  at  first  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  there 
should  be  anything  beautiful  about  a  great  city. 
When  you  get  a  little  older  I  think  that  you  will 
see  things  differently.  The  beauty  of  a  great  city 
thronged  with  men  and  women  is  a  more  subtle 
thing  than  the  mere  joy  of  meadows  and  hills  and 
country  lanes  —  but  it  exists  all  the  same.  And 
now,"  I  continued,  stopping  short  upon  the  pave- 
ment, "  I  must  take  you  to  your  friends.  Tell  me 
where  they  live.  You  have  the  address,  perhaps." 

"  What  friends  ?  "  she  asked  me,  with  wide-open 
eyes. 

"  You  told  the  superintendent  of  police  that  you 
had  friends  in  London,"  I  reminded  her. 

Then  she  smiled  at  me  —  a  very  dazzling  smile, 
which  showed  all  her  white  teeth,  and  which  seemed 
somehow  to  become  reflected  in  her  dark  blue  eyes. 

"  But  I  meant  you!  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I  thought 
that  you  knew  that!  There  is  no  one  else.  You 
are  my  friend,  I  know  very  well,  for  you  came  and 
spoke  kindly  to  me  when  I  was  terrified  —  terrified 
to  death." 

The  shadow  of  gravity  rested  only  for  a  mo- 
ment upon  her  face.  She  laughed  gaily  at  my 
consternation. 

"  Then  where  am  I  to  take  you  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Stupid,"  she  murmured ;  "  I  am  going  with  you, 
of  course.  Why  —  why  —  you  don't  mind,  do  you  ?" 
she  asked,  with  a  sudden  catch  in  her  throat. 

I  felt  like  a  brute,  and  I  hastened  to  make  what 
amends  I  could.  I  smiled  at  her  reassuringly. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  3$ 

"  Mind !  Of  course  I  don't  mind,"  I  declared. 
"  Only,  you  see,  there  are  three  of  us  —  all  men  — 
and  we  live  together.  I  was  afraid " 

"  I  shall  not  mind  that  at  all,"  she  interrupted 
cheerfully.  "  If  they  are  nice  like  you,  I  think  that 
it  will  be  delightful.  There  were  only  girls  at  the 
convent,  you  know,  and  the  sisters,  and  a  few  mas- 
ters who  came  to  teach  us  things,  but  they  were  not 
allowed  to  speak  to  us  except  to  give  out  the  lessons, 
and  they  were  very  stupid.  I  do  not  think  that  I 
shall  be  any  trouble  to  you  at  all.  I  will  try  not  to 
be." 

I  looked  at  her  —  a  little  helplessly.  After  all, 
though  she  was  tall  for  her  years,  she  was  only  a 
child.  Her  dress  was  of  an  awkward  length,  her 
long  straight  fringe  and  plaited  hair  the  coiffure  of 
the  schoolroom.  The  most  surprising  thing  of  all 
in  connection  with  her  was  that  she  showed  no  signs 
of  the  tragedy  which  had  so  recently  been  played 
out  around  her.  Her  eyes  had  lost  their  nameless 
fear;  there  was  even  colour  in  her  cheeks. 

"  Come  along,  then !  "  I  said.  "  We  will  turn  into 
the  Strand  and  take  a  hansom." 

She  walked  buoyantly  along  by  my  side,  as  tall 
within  an  inch  or  so  as  myself,  and  with  a  certain 
elegance  in  her  gait  a  little  hard  to  reconcile  with  .her 
years.  All  the  while  she  looked  eagerly  about  her, 
her  eyes  shining  with  curiosity. 

"  We  passed  through  Paris  at  night,"  she  said, 
with  a  little  reminiscent  shudder,  as  though  every 
thought  connected  with  that  journey  were  a  torture, 
"  and  I  have  never  really  been  in  a  great  city  before. 
I  hope  you  meant  what  you  said,"  she  added,  looking 


36  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

up  at  me  with  a  quick  smile,  "  and  that  there  are  parts 
of  London  more  beautiful  than  this." 

"  Many,"  I  assured  her.  "  You  shall  see  the  parks. 
The  rhododendrons  will  be  out  soon,  and  I  think  that 
you  will  find  them  beautiful,  though,  of  course,  the 
town  can  never  be  like  the  country.  Here  's  a  han- 
som with  a  good  horse.  Jump  in !  " 

I  think  that  our  arrival  at  Number  4,  Earl's 
Crescent,  created  quite  as  much  sensation  as  I  had 
anticipated.  When  I  opened  the  door  of  the  large, 
barely-furnished  room,  which  we  called  our  work- 
shop, Arthur  sprang  from  the  table  on  which  he  had 
been  lounging,  and  Mabane,  who  was  still  working, 
dropped  his  brush  in  sheer  amazement.  I  turned 
towards  the  girl. 

"  These  are  my  friends,  Isobel,  of  whom  I  have 
been  telling  you,"  I  said.  "  This  is  Mr.  Arthur 
Fielding,  who  is  the  ornamental  member  of  the  es- 
tablishment, and  that  is  Mr.  Allan  Mabane,  who 
paints  very  bad  pictures,  but  who  contrives  to  make 
other  people  think  that  they  are  worth  buying. 
Allan,  this  young  lady,  Miss  Isobel  de  Sorrens,  and 
I  have  had  a  little  adventure  together.  I  will  ex- 
plain all  about  it  later  on." 

They  both  advanced  with  extended  hands.  The 
girl,  as  though  suddenly  conscious  of  her  position, 
gave  a  hand  to  each,  and  looked  at  them  almost 
piteously. 

"  You  will  not  mind  my  coming,"  she  begged,  with 
a  tremulous  little  note  of  appeal  in  her  tone.  "  I  do 
not  seem  to  have  any  friends,  and  Mr.  Arnold  has 
been  so  kind  to  me.  If  I  may  stay  here  for  a  little 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  37 

while  I  will  try  —  oh,  I  am  sure,  that  I  will  not  be 
in  anyone's  way !  " 

The  pathos  of  her  breathless  little  speech  was  al- 
most irresistible.  The  child,  as  she  stood  there  in 
the  centre  of  the  room,  looking  eagerly  from  one  to 
the  other,  conquered  easily.  I  do  not  know  if  either 
of  the  other  two  were  conscious  of  the  new  note  of 
life  which  she  seemed  to  bring  with  her  into  our 
shabby,  smoke-smelling  room,  but  to  me  it  came 
home,  even  in  those  first  few  moments,  with  wonder- 
ful poignancy.  An  alien  note  it  was,  but  a  won- 
derfully sweet  one.  We  three  men  had  drifted  away 
from  the  whole  world  of  our  womenkind.  She 
seemed  to  bring  us  back  instantly  into  touch  with 
some  of  the  few  better  and  rarer  memories  round 
which  the  selfishness  of  life  is  always  building  a 
thicker  crust.  For  one  thing,  at  that  moment  I  was 
deeply  grateful  —  that  I  knew  my  friends.  My  task 
was  made  a  sinecure. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  Mabane  exclaimed,  with 
unmistakeable  earnestness,  "  you  are  heartily  wel- 
come. We  are  delighted  to  see  you  here ! " 

"  More  than  welcome,"  Arthur  declared.  "  We 
are  all  one  here,  you  know, .Miss  de  Sorrens;  and 
if  you  are  Arnold's  friend,  you  must  be  ours." 

For  the  first  time  tears  stood  in  her  eyes.  She 
brushed  them  proudly  away. 

"  You  are  very,  very  kind,"  she  said.  "  I  cannot 
tell  you  how  grateful  I  am  to  you  both." 

Arthur  rushed  for  our  one  easy-chair,  and  insisted 
upon  installing  her  in  it.  Mabane  lit  a  stove  and  left 
the  room  swinging  a  kettle.  I  drew  a  little  sigh  of 
relief,  and  threw  my  hat  into  a  corner.  Apparently; 


38  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

she  had  conquered  my  friends  as  easily  as  she  had 
conquered  me. 

"  Arthur,"  I  said,  "  please  entertain  Miss  de  Sor- 
rens  for  a  few  moments,  will  you.  I  must  go  and 
interview  Mrs.  Burdett." 

"  I  '11  do  my  best,  Arnold,"  he  assured  me.  "  Mrs. 
Burdett 's  in  the  kitchen,  I  think.  She  came  in  just 
before  you." 

Mrs.  Burdett  was  our  housekeeper  and  sole  domes- 
tic. She  was  a  hard-featured  but  kindly  old  woman, 
with  a  caustic  tongue  and  a  soft  heart.  She  heard 
my  story  unmoved,  betraying  neither  enthusiasm  or 
disapproval.  When  I  had  finished,  she  simply  set 
her  cap  straight  and  rubbed  her  hands  upon  her 
apron. 

"  I  'd  like  to  see  the  child,  as  you  call  her,  Mr. 
Arnold,"  she  said.  "  You  young  gentlemen  are  so 
easy  deceived,  and  it 's  an  unusual  thing  that  you  're 
proposing,  not  to  say  inconvenient." 

So  I  took  Mrs.  Burdett  back  with  me  to  the  studio. 
As  we  opened  the  door  the  music  of  the  girl's  strange 
little  foreign  laugh  was  ringing  through  the  room. 
Arthur  was  mounted  upon  his  hobby,  talking  of  the 
delights  of  motoring,  and  she  was  listening  with 
sparkling  eyes.  They  stopped  at  once  as  we  entered. 

"  This  is  Mrs.  Burdett,  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  who  looks 
after  us  here,  and  who  is  going  to  take  charge  of  you. 
She  will  show  you  your  room.  I  'm  sorry  that  you 
will  find  it  so  tiny,  but  you  can  see  that  we  are  a  little 
cramped  here ! " 

Isobel  rose  at  once. 

"  You  should  have  seen  our  cells  at  St.  Argueil," 
she  exclaimed,  smiling.  "  Some  of  us  who  were  tall 


39 

Could  scarcely  stand  upright.  May  I  come  with  you, 
Mrs.  Burdett?" 

Mrs.  Burdett' s  tone  and  answer  relieved  me  of  one 
more  anxiety.  The  door  closed  upon  them.  We 
three  men  were  alone. 

"  Is  this,"  Mabane  asked  curiously,  "  a  practical 
joke,  or  a  part  of  your  plot?  What  does  it  all  mean? 
Where  on  earth  did  you  come  across  the  child  ?  Who 
is  she?" 

I  took  a  cigarette  from  my  case  and  lit  it. 

"  The  responsibility  for  the  whole  affair,"  I  de- 
clared, "  remains  with  Arthur." 

The  boy  whistled  softly.  He  looked  at  me  with 
wide-open  eyes. 

"  Come,"  he  declared,  "  I  like  that.  Why,  I  have 
never  seen  the  girl  before  in  my  life,  or  anyone  like 
her.  Where  do  I  come  in,  I  should  like  to  know?  " 

"  It  was  you,"  I  said,  "  who  started  me  off  to 
Charing  Cross." 

"  You  mean  to  say  that  you  picked  her  up  there?  " 
Mabane  exclaimed. 

"  I  will  tell  you  the  whole  story,"  I  answered. 
"  She  comes  with  the  halo  of  tragedy  about  her. 
Listen!" 

Then  I  told  them  of  the  things  which  had  hap- 
pened to  me  during  the  last  few  hours. 


40  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   VI 

I  CERTAINLY  could  not  complain  of  any  lack 
of  interest  on  the  part  of  my  auditors.  They 
listened  to  every  word  of  my  story  with  rapt  atten- 
tion. When  I  had  finished  they  were  both  silent  for 
several  moments.  Mabane  eyed  me  curiously.  I 
think  that  at  first  he  scarcely  knew  whether  to  be- 
lieve me  altogether  serious. 

"  The  man  who  was  with  the  girl,"  Arthur  asked 
at  last  — "  this  Major  Delahaye,  or  whatever  his 
name  was  —  is  he  dead  ?  " 

"  He  was  alive  two  hours  ago,"  I  answered. 

"Will  he  recover?" 

"  I  believe  that  there  is  just  a  bare  chance  —  no 
more,"  I  answered.  "  He  had  a  weak  heart,  and  the 
shock  was  almost  enough  to  kill  him." 

"  And  your  friend  —  the  man  who  shot  him  — 
where  is  he  ?  "  Mabane  asked.  "  Is  he  in  custody  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  He  disappeared,"  I  answered,  "  as  though  by 
magic.  You  see,  we  were  sitting  at  the  table  next 
the  door,  and  he  had  every  opportunity  for  slipping 
out  unnoticed." 

"  It  was  at  the  Cafe  Grand,  you  said,  was  n't  it?  " 
Arthur  asked. 

I  nodded. 

"  How  about  the  commissionaire,  then  ?  " 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  41 

"  He  saw  the  man  come  out,  but  he  took  no  par- 
ticular notice  of  him,"  I  answered.  "  He  crossed  the 
street  at  an  ordinary  walking  pace,  and  he  was  out 
of  sight  before  the  commotion  inside  began." 

"  It  seems  to  me,"  Mabane  remarked,  "  that  you 
must  have  found  yourself  in  rather  an  awkward 
position." 

"  I  did,"  I  answered  grimly.  "  Of  course  my  story 
sounded  a  bit  thin,  and  the  police  made  me  go  to  the 
station  with  them.  As  luck  would  have  it,  however, 
I  knew  the  inspector,  and  I  managed  to  convince  him 
that  I  was  telling  the  truth,  or  I  doubt  whether  they 
would  have  let  me  go.  I  suppose,"  I  added,  a  little 
doubtfully,  "  that  you  fellows  must  think  me  a  per- 
fect idiot  for  bringing  the  child  here,  but  upon  my 
word  I  don't  know  what  else  I  could  have  done.  I 
simply  could  n't  leave  her  there,  or  in  the  streets. 
I  'm  awfully  sorry  —  " 

"  Don't  be  an  ass,"  Arthur  interrupted  energet- 
ically. "  Of  course  you  could  n't  do  anything  but 
bring  her  here.  You  acted  like  a  sensible  chap  for 
once." 

"  Have  you  questioned  her,"  Mabane  asked,  "about 
her  friends?  If  she  has  none  in  London,  she  must 
have  some  somewhere !  " 

"  I  have  questioned  her,"  I  answered,  "  but  not 
very  successfully.  She  appears  to  know  nothing 
about  her  relations,  or  even  her  parentage.  She  has 
been  at  the  convent  ever  since  she  can  remember,  and 
she  has  seen  no  one  outside  it  except  this  man  who 
took  her  there  and  came  to  fetch  her  away." 

"  And  what  relation  is  he?  "  Allan  asked. 

"  None !    He  called  himself  simply  her  guardian/' 


42  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Arthur  walked  across  the  room  for  his  pipe,  and 
commenced  to  fill  it. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  you  are  like  the  man  in  the 
Scriptures,  who  found  what  he  went  out  for  to  see. 
You  've  got  your  adventure,  at  any  rate.  All  owing 
to  my  advice,  too.  Hullo !  " 

We  all  turned  round.  The  door  of  the  room  was 
suddenly  opened  and  closed.  My  host  of  a  few  hours 
ago  stood  upon  the  threshold,  smiling  suavely  upon 
us.  He  wore  a  low  black  hat,  and  a  coat  somewhat 
thicker  than  the  season  of  the  year  seemed  to  demand. 
Every  article  of  attire  was  different,  but  his  face 
seemed  to  defy  disguise.  I  should  have  known  Mr. 
Grooton  anywhere. 

His  unexpected  presence  seemed  to  deprive  me 
almost  of  my  wits.  I  simply  gaped  at  him  like  the 
others. 

"Great  heavens!"  I  exclaimed.     "You  here!" 

He  stood  quite  still  for  a  moment,  listening.  Then 
he  glanced  sharply  around  the  room.  He  looked  at 
Mabane,  and  he  looked  at  Arthur.  Finally  he  ad- 
dressed me. 

"  I  fancy  that  I  am  a  fairly  obvious  apparition," 
he  remarked.  "  Where  is  the  child  ?  " 

"  She  is  here,"  I  answered,  "  in  another  room  witH 
our  housekeeper  just  now.  But " 

"  I  have  only  a  few  seconds  to  spare,"  Mr.  Grooten 
interrupted  ruthlessly.  "  Listen  to  me.  You  have 
chosen  to  interfere  in  this  concern,  and  you  must  take 
your  part  in  it  now.  You  have  the  child,  and  you 
must  keep  her  for  a  time.  You  must  not  let  her  go, 
on  any  account.  Unfortunately,  the  man  who  sold 
me  that  pistol  was  a  liar.  Delahaye  is  not  dead.  It 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  43 

is  possible  even  that  he  may  recover.  Will  you  swear 
to  keep  the  child  from  him?" 

I  hesitated.  It  seemed  to  me  that  Grooten  was 
taking  a  great  deal  for  granted. 

"  You  must  remember,"  I  said,  "  that  I  have  ab- 
solutely no  legal  hold  upon  her.  If  Delahaye  is  her 
guardian  it  will  be  quite  easy  for  him  to  take  her 
away." 

"  He  is  not  her  legal  guardian,"  Grooten  said 
sharply.  "  He  has  no  just  claim  upon  her  at  all." 

"  Neither  have  I,"  I  reminded  him. 

"You  have  possession/'  Grooten  exclaimed.  "  I 
tell  you  that  neither  Delahaye,  if  he  lives,  nor  any 
other  person,  will  appeal  to  the  law  to  force  you  to 
give  the  child  up.  This  is  the  truth.  I  see  you  still 
hesitate.  Listen!  This  also  is  truth.  The  child  is 
in  danger  from  Delahaye  —  hideous,  unmentionable 
danger." 

I  never  thought  of  doubting  his  word.  Truth 
blazed  out  from  his  keen  grey  eyes;  his  words  car- 
ried conviction  with  them. 

"  I  will  keep  the  child,"  I  promised  him.  "  But 
tell  me  who  you  are,  and  what  you  have  to  do  with 
her." 

"  No  matter,"  he  answered  swiftly.  "  I  lay  this 
thing  upon  you,  a  charge  upon  your  honour.  Guard 
the  child.  If  Delahaye  recovers  there  will  be  trouble. 
You  must  brave  it  out.  You  are  an  Englishman; 
you  are  one  of  a  stubborn,  honourable  race.  Do  my 
bidding  in  this  matter,  and  you  shall  learn  what  grati- 
tude can  mean." 

Once  more  he  listened  for  a  moment  intently. 
Then  he  continued. 


44  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  I  am  followed  by  the  police,"  he  said.  "  They 
may  be  here  at  any  moment.  You  can  tell  them  of 
my  visit  if  it  is  necessary.  My  escape  is  provided 
for." 

"  But  surely  you  will  tell  me  something  else  about 
the  child,"  I  exclaimed.  "  Tell  me  at  least " 

He  held  out  his  hand. 

"  You  are  safer  to  know  nothing,"  he  said  quickly. 
"  Be  faithful  to  what  you  have  promised,  and  you 
will  never  regret  it." 

With  almost  incredible  swiftness  he  disappeared. 
We  all  three  looked  at  one  another,  speechless.  Then 
from  outside  came  the  sound  of  light  footsteps,  and 
a  laugh  as  from  the  throat  of  a  singing  bird.  The 
door  was  thrown  open,  and  Isobel  entered. 

"  Such  a  funny  little  man  has  just  gone  out ! "  she 
exclaimed.  "  He  had  a  handkerchief  tied  round  his 
face  as  though  he  had  been  fighting.  What  lazy 
people!  "  she  added,  looking  around.  "  I  expected  to 
find  tea  ready.  Will  you  please  tell  me  some  more 
about  motor-cars,  Mr.  Arthur  ?  " 

She  sat  on  a  stool  in  our  midst,  and  chattered 
while  we  fed  her  with  cakes,  and  screamed  with 
laughter  at  Mabane's  toast.  The  tragedy  of  a  few 
hours  ago  seemed  to  have  passed  already  from  her 
mind.  She  was  all  charm  and  irresponsibility.  The 
gaunt,  bare  room,  which  for  years  had  mocked  all 
our  efforts  at  decoration,  seemed  suddenly  a  beauti- 
ful place.  Easily,  and  with  the  effortless  grace  of 
her  fifteen  years,  she  laughed  her  way  into  our 
hearts. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  45 


CHAPTER   VII 

"\  RNOLD!" 

J[\,     I  waved  my  left  hand. 

"  Don't  disturb  me  for  a  few  minutes,  Allan, 
there  's  a  good  chap,"  I  begged.  "  I  'm  hard  at  it." 

"  Found  your  plot,  then,  eh  ?  " 

"  I  've  got  a  start,  anyhow !  Give  me  half  an  hour. 
I  only  want  to  set  the  thing  going/' 

Mabane  grunted,  and  took  up  his  brush.  For  once 
I  was  thankful  that  we  were  alone.  At  last  I  saw 
my  way.  After  weeks  of  ineffective  scribbling  a 
glimpse  of  the  real  thing  had  come  to  me. 

The  stiffness  had  gone  from  my  brain  and  fipgers. 
My  pen  flew  over  the  paper.  The  joy  of  creation 
sang  once  more  in  my  heart,  tingled  in  all  my  pulses. 
We  worked  together  and  in  silence  for  an  hour  or 
more.  Then,  with  a  little  sigh  of  satisfaction,  I 
leaned  back  in  my  chair. 

"  The  story  goes,  then?  "  Mabane  remarked. 

"  Yes,  it  goes,"  I  assented,  my  eyes  fixed  absently  ^ 
upon  the  loose  sheets  of  manuscript  strewn  all  over  ' 
my  desk.    Already  I  was  finding  it  hard  to  tear  my 
thoughts  away  from  it. 

There  was  a  short  silence.  Then  Mabane,  who 
had  been  filling  his  pipe,  came  over  to  my  side. 

"  You  heard  from  the  convent  this  morning, 
Arnold?" 

"  Yes !    The  letter  is  here.    Read  it !  " 


46  THE   MASTER  MUMMER 

Mabane  shook  his  head. 

"  I  can't  read  French,"  he  said. 

"  They  want  her  back  again,"  I  told  him,  thought- 
fully. "  The  woman  appears  to  be  honest  enough. 
She  admits  that  they  have  no  absolute  claim  —  they 
do  not  even  know  her  parentage.  They  have  been 
paid,  she  says,  regularly  and  well  for  the  child's 
education,  and  if  she  is  now  without  a  home  they 
would  like  her  to  go  back  to  them.  She  thinks  it 
possible  that  Major  Delahaye's  relatives,  or  the 
people  for  whom  he  acted,  might  continue  the  pay- 
ments, but  they  are  willing  to  take  their  risk  of  that. 
The  long  and  short  of  it  is,  that  they  want  her  back 
again." 

"  As  a  pupil  still?  "  Mabane  asked. 

"  They  would  train  her  for  a  teacher.  In  that  case 
she  would  have  to  serve  a  sort  of  novitiate.  She 
would  practically  become  a  nun." 

Mabane  withdrew  his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and 
looked  thoughtfully  into  the  bowl  of  it. 

"  I  never  had  a  sister,"  he  said,  "  and  I  really  know 
nothing  whatever  about  children.  But  does  it  occur 
to  you,  Arnold,  that  this  —  young  lady  seems  par- 
ticularly adapted  for  a  convent?" 

"  I  believe,"  I  said  firmly,  "  that  it  would  be  misery 
for  her." 

Mabane  walked  over  to  his  canvas  and  came  back 
again. 

"  What  about  Delahaye?  "  he  asked. 

"  He  is  still  unconscious  at  the  hospital,"  I  answered* 

Mabane  hesitated. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  seem  intrusive,  Arnold,"  he 
said,  "  but  I  can't  help  remembering  that  a  certain 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  47 

lady  with  whom  you  were  very  friendly  once  married 
a  Delahaye ! " 

I  nodded. 

"  I  should  have  told  you,  in  any  case,"  I  said. 
"  This  is  the  man  —  Major  Sir  William  Delahaye, 
whom  Eileen  Marigold  married." 

"  Then  surely  you  recognized  him  in  the  res- 
taurant?" 

"  I  never  met  him,"  I  answered.  "  This  marriage 
was  arranged  very  quickly,  as  you  know,  and  I  was 
abroad  when  it  took  place.  I  called  on  Lady  Dela- 
haye twice,  but  I  did  not  meet  her  husband  on  either 
occasion." 

Mabane  fingered  the  loose  sheets  of  my  manuscript 
idly. 

"  Your  story,  Arnold,"  he  said,  "  is  having  a  tragic 
birth.  Will  Delahaye  really  die,  do  you  think?" 

"  The  doctors  are  not  very  hopeful,"  I  told  hiiru 
"  The  wound  itself  is  not  mortal,  but  the  shock  seems 
to  have  affected  him  seriously.  He  is  not  a  young; 
man,  and  he  has  lived  hard  all  his  days." 

"  If  he  dies,"  Mabane  said  thoughtfully,  "  your 
friend  Grooten,  I  think  you  said  he  called  himself,, 
will  have  to  disappear  altogether.  In  that  case  I 
suppose  we  —  shall  be  compelled  to  send  the  child 
back  to  the  convent  ?  " 

"Unless " 

"Unless  what?" 

"  Unless  we  provide  for  her  ourselves,"  I  answered 
boldly. 

Mabane  smoked  furiously  for  a  few  moments.  His» 
hands  were  thrust  deep  down  in  his  trousers  pockets.. 
He  looked  fixedly  out  of  the  window. 


48 

"  Arnold,"  he  said  abruptly,  "  do  you  believe  in 
presentiments?  " 

"  It  depends  whether  they  affect  me  favourably 
or  the  reverse,"  I  answered  carelessly.  "  You  Scotch- 
men are  all  so  superstitious." 

"  You  may  call  it  superstition,"  Mabane  contin- 
ued. "  Everything  of  the  sort  which  an  ignorant 
man  cannot  understand  he  calls  superstition.  But  if 
you  like,  I  will  tell  you  something  which  is  surely 
going  to  happen.  I  will  tell  you  what  I  have 
seen."  • 

I  leaned  forward  in  my  chair,  and  looked  curiously 
into  Allan's  face.  His  hard,  somewhat  commonplace 
features  seemed  touched  for  the  moment  by  some 
transfiguring  fire.  His  keen,  blue-grey  eyes  were  as 
soft  and  luminous  as  a  girl's.  He  had  actually  the 
appearance  of  a  man  who  sees  a  little  way  beyond  the 
border.  Even  then  I  could  not  take  him  seriously. 

"  Speak,  Sir  Prophet !  "  I  exclaimed,  with  a  little 
laugh.  "  Let  my  eyes  also  be  touched  with  fire.  Let 
me  see  what  you  see." 

Mabane  showed  no  sign  of  annoyance.  He  looked 
at  me  composedly. 

"  Do  not  be  a  fool,  Arnold,"  he  said.  "  You  may 
believe  or  disbelieve,  but  some  day  you  will  know 
that  the  things  which  I  have  in  my  mind  are  true." 

I  think  that  I  was  a  little  bewildered.  I  realized 
now  what  at  first  I  had  been  inclined  to  doubt  — 
that  Mabane  was  wholly  in  earnest.  Unconsciously 
my  attitude  towards  him  changed.  It  is  hard  to 
mock  a  man  who  believes  in  himself. 

"  Go  ahead,  then,  Allan,"  I  said  quietly.  "  Re- 
member that  you  have  told  me  nothing  yet." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER'  49 

Mabane  turned  towards  me.  He  spoke  slowly. 
His  face  was  serious  —  almost  solemn. 

"  The  man  Delahaye  will  never  claim  the  child," 
he  said.  "  I  think  that  he  will  die.  The  man  who 
shot  him  has  gone  —  we  shall  not  hear  of  him  again, 
not  for  many  years,  if  at  all.  He  has  gone  like  a 
stone  dropped  into  a  bottomless  tarn.  We  shall  not 
send  the  child  back  to  the  convent.  She  will  remain 
here." 

He  paused,  as  though  expecting  me  to  speak.  I 
shrugged  my  shoulders. 

"  Come,"  I  said,  "  I  shall  not  quarrel  with  your 
prophecy  so  far,  Allan.  The  introduction  of  a  fem- 
inine element  here  seems  a  little  incongruous,  but 
after  all  she  is  very  young." 

Mabane  unclasped  his  arms,  and  looked  thought- 
fully around  the  room.  Already  there  was  a  change 
since  a  few  days  ago.  The  ornaments  and  furniture 
were  free  from  dust.  There  were  two  great  bowls 
of  flowers  upon  the  table,  some  studies  which  had 
hung  upon  the  wall  were  replaced  with  others  of  a 
more  sedate  character.  The  atmosphere  of  the  place 
was  different.  Wild  untidiness  had  given  place  to 
some  semblance  of  order.  There  was  an  attempt 
everywhere  at  repression.  Mabane  knocked  the 
ashes  from  his  pipe. 

"  For  five  years,"  he  said  abstractedly,  "  you  and 
I  and  Arthur  have  lived  here  together.  Are  you 
satisfied  with  those  five  years  ?  Think !  " 

I  looked  from  my  desk  out  of  the  window,  over  the 
housetops  up  into  the  sunshine,  and  I  too  was  grave. 
Satisfied!  Is  anyone  short  of  a  fool  ever  satisfied? 

"No!    I  am  not,"  I  admitted,  a  little  bitterly. 

4 


So  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Tell  me  what  you  think  of  these  five  years, 
Arnold.  Tell  me  the  truth,"  Mabane  persisted. 
"  Let  me  know  if  your  thoughts  are  the  same  as 
mine." 

"  Drift,"  I  answered.  "  We  have  worked  a  little, 
and  thought  a  little  —  but  our  feet  have  been  on  the 
earth  a  great  deal  oftener  than  our  heads  have  touched 
the  clouds." 

"  Drift,"  Mabane  repeated.  "  It  is  a  true  word. 
We  have  gained  a  little  experience  of  the  wrong 
sort :  we  have  learnt  how  to  adapt  our  poor  little  gifts 
to  the  whim  of  the  moment.  Such  as  our  talent  has 
been,  we  have  made  a  servant  of  it  to  minister  to 
our  physical  necessities.  We  have  lived  little  lives, 
Arnold  —  very  little  lives." 

"  Go  on,"  I  murmured.    "  This  at  least  is  truth !  " 

Mabane  paused.  He  looked  at  his  pipe,  but  he  did 
not  relight  it. 

"  There  is  a  change  coming,"  he  said,  slowly.  "  We 
are  going  to  drift  no  longer.  We  are  going  to  be 
drawn  into  the  maelstrom  of  life.  What  it  may 
mean  for  you  and  for  me  and  for  the  boy,  I  do  not 
know.  It  will  change  us  —  it  must  change  our  work. 
I  shall  paint  no  more  guesses  at  realism  —  after  some- 
one else ;  and  you  will  write  no  more  of  princesses, 
or  pull  the  strings  of  tinsel-decked  puppets,  so  that 
they  may  dance  their  way  through  the  pages  of  your 
gaily-dressed  novels.  And  an  end  has  come  to  these 
things,  Arnold.  No,  I  am  not  raving,  nor  is  this  a 
jest.  Wait!" 

"  You  speak,"  I  told  him,  "  like  a  seer.  Since  when 
was  it  given  to  you  to  read  the  future  so  glibly,  my 
friend?" 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  51 

Mabane  looked  at  me  with  grave  eyes.  There  was 
no  shadow  of  levity  in  his  mariner. 

"  I  am  not  a  superstitious  man,  Arnold,"  he  said, 
"  but  I  come,  after  all,  of  hill-folk,  and  I  believe  that 
there  are  times  when  one  can  feel  and  see  the  shadow 
of  coming  things.  My  grandfather  knew  the  day 
of  his  death,  and  spoke  of  it ;  my  father  made  his  will 
before  he  set  foot  on  the  steamer  which  went  to  the 
bottom  on  a  calm  day  between  Dover  and  Ostend. 
Nothing  of  this  sort  has  ever  come  to  me  before. 
You  yourself  have  called  me  too  hard-headed,  too 
material  for  an  artist.  So  I  have  always  thought 
myself  —  until  to-day.  To-day  I  feel  differently." 

"Is  it  this  child,  then,  who  is  to  open  the  gates  of 
the  world  to  us?"  I  asked. 

"  Remember,"  Mabane  answered,  "  that  before 
many  months  have  passed  she  will  be  a  woman." 

I  moved  in  my  chair  a  little  uneasily. 

"  I  wonder,"  I  said,  half  to  myself,  "  whether  I 
did  well  to  bring  her  here! " 

Mabane  laughed  shortly. 

"  It  was  not  you  who  brought  her,"  he  declared. 
"  She  was  sent." 

"Sent?" 

"  Aye,  these  things  are  not  of  our  choosing,  Arnold. 
There  is  something  behind  which  drives  the  great 
wheels.  You  can  call  it  Fate  or  God,  according  to 
your  philosophy.  It  is  there  all  the  time,  the  one 
eternal  force." 

I  looked  at  Mabane  steadfastly.  He  did  not 
flinch. 

"  Psychologically,  my  dear  Allan,"  I  said,  "  you 
appear  to  be  in  a  very  interesting  state  just  now." 


52  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Mabane  shrugged  his  shoulders.  He  crossed  the 
room  for  some  tobacco,  and  began  to  refill  his  pipe. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  have  finished.  To-morrow, 
I  suppose,  I  shall  want  to  kick  myself  for  having 
said  as  much  as  I  have.  Listen!  Here  they  come." 

Isobel  came  into  the  room,  followed  by  Arthur  in 
a  leather  jacket  and  breeches.  Her  cheeks  were  pink, 
her  eyes  danced  with  excitement.  She  threw  off  her 
tam-o'-shanter,  and  stood  deftly  re-arranging  for  a 
moment  her  wind-tossed  hair. 

"  Glorious ! "  she  exclaimed.  "  Oh,  it  has  been 
glorious!  Mr.  Arthur,  how  can  I  thank  you?  I 
have  never  enjoyed  myself  so  much  in  my  life.  It 
the  Sister  Superior  could  only  have  seen  me  —  and 
the  girls!" 

"  Motoring,  I  presume,"  Mabane  remarked,  "  is 
amongst  the  pleasures  denied  to  the  young  ladies  of 
the  convent?  " 

She  laughed  gaily. 

"  Pleasures !  Why,  there  are  no  pleasures  for 
those  poor  girls.  One  may  not  even  smile,  and  as 
for  games,  even  they  are  not  permitted.  I  think  that 
it  is  shameful  to  make  such  a  purgatory  of  a  place. 
One  may  not,  one  could  not,  be  happy  there.  It  is 
not  allowed." 

She  caught  the  look  which  flashed  from  Mabane 
to  me,  and  turned  instantly  around. 

"  Oh,  Monsieur  Arnold,"  she  cried  breathlessly, 
"you  do  not  think  —  I  shall  not  have  to  return 
there?" 

"  Not  likely ! "  Arthur  interposed  with  vigour. 
"By  Jove!  if  anyone  shut  you  up  there  again  I'd 
come  and  fetch  you  out." 


^*  >X          JrCN^XlOfiJteS. 


"If  we  can  possibly   prevent  it,"   I   said  slowly,  "you  shall 
never  return  there."      Page  53. 

The  Master  Mummer. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  "53 

She  threw  a  quick  glance  of  gratitude  towards  him, 
but  her  eyes  returned  almost  immediately  to  mine. 
She  waited  anxiously  for  me  to  speak. 

"  If  we  can  possibly  prevent  it,"  I  said  slowly, 
"  you  shall  never  return  there.  I  do  not  think  that 
it  is  at  all  the  proper  place  for  you.  But  you  must 
remember  that  we  are,  after  all,  people  of  no  author- 
ity. Someone  might  come  forward  to-morrow  with 
a  legal  right  to  claim  you,  and  we  should  be  helpless." 

Slowly  the  colour  died  away  from  her  cheeks.  Her 
eyes  became  preternaturally  bright  and  anxious. 

"  There  is  no  one,"  she  faltered,  "  except  that  man. 
He  called  himself  my  guardian." 

"  Had  you  seen  him  before  he  came  to  the  convent 
and  fetched  you  away  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Only  once,"  she  answered.  "  He  came  to  St. 
Argueil  about  a  year  ago.  I  hated  him  then.  I  have 
hated  him  ever  since.  I  think  that  if  all  men  were 
like  that  I  would  be  content  to  stay  in  the  convent  all 
my  life." 

"  You  don't  remember  the  circumstances  under 
which  he  took  you  there,  I  suppose  ?  "  Mabane  asked 
thoughtfully. 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  I  do  not  remember  being  taken  there  at  all,"  she 
answered.  "  I  think  that  I  was  not  more  than  four  or 
five  years  old." 

"  And  all  the  time  no  one  else  has  been  to  see  you 
or  written  to  you  ?  "  I  asked. 

"No  one!" 

She  smothered  a  little  sob  as  she  answered  me. 
It  was  as  though  my  questions  and  Mabane's,  al- 
though I  had  asked  them  gently  enough,  had  suddenly 


54  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

brought  home  to  her  a.  fuller  sense  of  her  complete 
loneliness.  Her  eyes  were  full  of  tears.  She  held 
herself  proudly,  and  she  fought  hard  for  her  self- 
control.  Arthur  glanced  indignantly  at  both  of  us. 
He  had  the  wit,  however,  to  remain  silent. 

"  There  are  just  one  or  two  more  questions, 
Isobel,"  I  said,  "  which  I  must  ask  you  some  time  or 
other." 

"  Now,  please,  then,"  she  begged. 

"  Did  Major  Delahaye  ever  mention  his  wife  to 
you?" 

"  Never." 

"  You  did  not  even  know,  then,  when  you  arrived 
in  London  where  he  was  taking  you?  " 

"  I  knew  nothing,"  she  admitted.  "  He  behaved 
very  strangely,  and  I  was  miserable  every  moment 
of  the  time  I  was  with  him.  I  understood  that  I  was 
to  have  a  companion  and  live  in  London." 

I  felt  my  blood  run  cold  for  a  moment.  I  did  not 
idare  to  look  at  Mabane. 

"  I  do  not  think,"  I  said,  "  that  you  need  fear  any- 
thing more  from  Major  Delahaye,  even  if  he  should 
recover." 

"  You  mean  —  ?  "  she  cried  breathlessly. 

"  We  should  never  give  you  up  to  him,"  I  declared 
firmly. 

"Thank  God!"  she  murmured.  "Mr.  Arnold," 
she  added,  looking  at  me  eagerly,  "  I  can  paint  and 
sing  and  play  the  piano.  Can't  people  earn  money 
sometimes  by  doing  these  things  ?  I  would  work  — 
oh,  I  am  not  afraid  to  work.  Could  n't  I  stay  here 
for  a  little  while?" 

"  Of  course  you  can,"  I  assured  her.    "  And  there 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  53 

is  no  need  at  all  for  you  to  think  about  earning  money 
yet.  It  is  not  that  which  troubles  us  at  all.  It  is  the 
fact  that  we  have  no  legal  claim  upon  you,  and  people 
may  come  forward  at  any  moment  who  have." 

Arthur  glanced  towards  her  triumphantly. 

"  What  did  I  tell  you?  "  he  exclaimed. 

She  looked  timidly  across  at  Mabane. 

"The  other  gentleman  won't  mind?"  she  asked 
timidly. 

Mabane  smiled  at  her,  and  his  smile  was  a  revela- 
tion even  to  us  who  knew  him  so  well. 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  he  said,  "  you  will  be 
more  than  welcome.  I  have  just  been  telling  Arnold 
that  your  coming  will  make  the  world  a  different 
place  for  us." 

The  girl's  smile  was  illumining.  It  seemed  to 
include  us  all.  She  held  out  both  her  hands.  Mabane 
seized  one  and  bent  over  it  with  the  air  of  a  courtier. 
The  other  was  offered  to  me.  Arthur  was  content  to 
beam  upon  us  all  from  the  background.  At  that 
precise  moment  came  a  tap  at  the  door.  Mrs.  Burdett 
brought  in  a  telegram. 

I  tore  it  open,  and  hastily  reading  it,  passed  it  on 
to  Mabane.  He  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then 
turned  gravely  to  Isobel. 

"  Major  Delahaye  will  not  trouble  you  any  more," 
he  said.  "  He  died  in  the  hospital  an  hour  ago." 


56  THE  MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER  VIII 

"  \  SHADE  more  to  the  right,  please.  There,  just 
Ji\,  as  you  are  now !  Don't  move !  In  five  minutes 
I  shall  have  finished  for  the  day." 

Isobel  smiled. 

"  I  think  that  your  five  minutes,"  she  said,  "  last 
sometimes  for  a  very  long  time.  But  I  am  not  tired 
—  no,  not  at  all.  I  can  stay  like  this  if  you  wish  until 
the  light  goes." 

"  You  are  splendid,"  Mabane  murmured.  "  The 
best  sitter  —  oh,  hang  it,  who  's  that  ?  " 

"  There  is  certainly  some  one  at  the  door,"  Isobel 
remarked. 

Mabane  paused  in  his  work  to  shout  fiercely, 
"  Come  in !  "  I  too  looked  up  from  my  writing.  A 
woman  was  ushered  into  the  room — a  woman  dressed 
in  fashionable  mourning,  of  medium  height,  and  with 
a  wealth  of  fair,  fluffy  hair,  which  seemed  to  mock 
the  restraining  black  bands.  Mrs.  Burdett,  visibly 
impressed,  lingered  in  the  background. 

The  woman  paused  and  looked  around.  She 
looked  at  me,  and  the  pen  slipped  from  my  nerveless 
fingers.  I  rose  to  my  feet. 

"  Eil—  Lady  Delahaye !  "  I  exclaimed. 

She  inclined  her  head.  Her  demeanour  was  cold, 
almost  belligerent 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  57 

"  I  am  glad  to  find  you  here,  Arnold  Greatson," 
she  said.  "  You  are  a  friend,  I  believe,  of  the  man 
who  murdered  my  husband  ?  " 

"  You  have  been  misinformed,  Lady  Delahaye,"  I 
answered  quietly.  "  I  was  not  even  an  acquaintance 
of  his.  We  met  that  day  for  the  first  time." 

By  the  faintest  possible  curl  of  the  lips  she  ex- 
pressed her  contemptuous  disbelief. 

"  Ah!  "  she  said.  "  I  remember  your  story  at  the 
inquest.  You  will  forgive  me  if,  in  company,  I  be- 
lieve, with  the  majority  who  heard  it,  I  find  it  a  trifle 
improbable." 

I  looked  at  her  gravely.  This  was  the  woman  with 
whom  I  had  once  believed  myself  in  love,  the  woman 
who  had  jilted  me  to  marry  a  man  of  whom  even  his 
friends  found  it  hard  to  speak  well. 

"•  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  my  story  may  have 
sounded  strangely,  but  it  was  true.  I  presume  that 
you  did  not  come  here  solely  with  the  purpose  of  ex- 
pressing your  amiable  opinion  of  my  veracity?  " 

"  You  are  quite  right,"  she  admitted  drily.  "  I 
did  not." 

She  was  silent  for  a  few  moments.  Her  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  Isobel,  and  I  did  not  like  their  expression. 

"  May  I  offer  you  a  chair,  Lady  Delahaye  ?  "  I 
asked. 

"  Thank  you,  I  prefer  to  stand  —  here,"  she  an- 
swered. "  This,  I  believe,  is  the  young  person  who 
was  with  my  husband  ?  " 

She  extended  a  sombrely  gloved  forefinger  towards 
Isobel,  who  met  her  gaze  unflinchingly. 

"  That  is  the  young  lady,"  I  answered.  "  Have 
you  anything  to  say  to  her  ?  " 


58  THE    MASTER    MUMMER 

"  My  errand  here  is  with  her,"  Lady  Delahaye 
declared.  "  What  is  it  that  you  call  yourself,  girl?" 

Isobel  was  a  little  bewildered.  She  seemed  scarcely 
able  to  appreciate  Lady  Delahaye' s  attitude. 

"  My  name,"  she  said,  "  is  Isobel  de  Sorrens." 

"  You  asserted  at  the  inquest,"  Lady  Delahaye  con- 
tinued, "  that  my  husband  was  your  guardian.  What 
did  you  mean  by  such  an  extraordinary  statement  ?  " 

Isobel  seemed  suddenly  to  grasp  the  situation.  Her 
finely  arched  eyebrows  were  raised,  her  cheeks  were 
pink,  her  eyes  sparkling.  She  rose  slowly  to  her  feet, 
and,  child  though  she  was,  the  dignity  of  her  de- 
meanour was  such  that  Lady  Delahaye  with  her  ac- 
cusing forefinger  seemed  to  shrink  into  insignificance. 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  "  that  you  are  a  very  rude 
person.  Major  Delahaye  took  me  to  the  convent  of 
St.  Argueil  when  I  was  four  years  old,  and  left  me 
there.  He  visited  me  twelve  months  ago,  and  brought 
me  to  England  you  know  when.  I  was  with  him  for 
less  than  twenty-four  hours,  and  I  was  very  unhappy 
indeed  all  the  time.  I  did  not  understand  the  things 
which  he  said  to  me,  nor  did  I  like  him  at  all.  I  think 
that  if  he  had  left  me  out  of  his  sight  for  a  moment 
I  should  have  run  away." 

Lady  Delahaye  was  very  pale,  and  her  eyes  were 
full  of  unpleasant  things.  I  found  myself  looking  at 
her,  and  marvelling  at  the  folly  which  I  had  long 
since  forgotten. 

"  You  perhaps  complained  of  him  —  to  his  mur- 
derer !  It  is  you,  no  doubt,  who  are  responsible  for 
my  husband's  death !  " 

Isobel' s  lips  curled  contemptuously. 

"  Major  Delahaye,"  she  said,  "  did  not  permit  me 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  59 

to  speak  to  anyone.  As  for  the  man  whom  you  call 
his  murderer,  I  never  saw  him  before  in  my  life,  nor 
should  I  recognize  him  again  if  I  saw  him  now.  I 
do  not  know  why  you  come  here  and  say  all  these 
unkind  things  to  me.  I  have  done  you  no  harm.  I 
am  very  sorry  about  Major  Delahaye,  but  —  but  —  " 

Her  lips  quivered.    I  hastily  interposed. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  I  do  not  know  what 
the  immediate  object  of  your  visit  here  may  be, 
but " 

"  The  immediate  object  of  my  visit,"  she  inter- 
rupted coldly,  "  is  as  repugnant  to  me,  Mr.  Great- 
son,  as  it  may  possibly  be  disappointing  to  you.  I 
am  here,  however,  to  carry  out  my  husband's  last 
wish.  This  child  herself  has  asserted  that  he  was 
her  guardian.  By  his  death  that  most  unwelcome 
post  devolves  upon  me." 

Isobel  turned  white,  as  though  stung  by  a  sudden 
apprehension.  She  looked  towards  me,  and  I  took 
her  hand  in  mine.  Lady  Delahaye  smiled  unpleas- 
antly upon  us  both. 

"  You  mean,"  I  said,  "  that  you  wish  to  take  her 
away  from  us  ?  " 

"  Wish !  "  Lady  Belahaye  repeated  coldly.  "  I  can 
assure  you  that  I  am  not  consulting  my  own  wishes 
upon  the  subject  at  all.  What  I  am  doing  is  simply 
my  duty.  The  child  had  better  get  her  hat  on." 

Isobel  did  not  move,  but  she  turned  very  pale.  Her 
eyes  seemed  fastened  upon  mine.  She  waited  for  me 
to  speak.  The  situation  was  embarrassing  enough  so 
far  as  I  was  concerned,  for  Lady  Delahaye  was  obvi- 
ously in  earnest.  I  tried  to  gain  time. 

"  May  I  ask  what  your  intentions  are  with  regard 


6o  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

to  the  child?  You  intend  to  take  her  to  your  home 
—  to  adopt  her,  I  suppose?  " 

Lady  Delahaye  regarded  me  with  cold  surprise. 

"  Certainly  not,"  she  answered.  "  I  shall  find  a 
fitting  position  for  her  in  her  own  station  of  life." 

"  May  I  assume  then,"  I  continued,  with  some 
eagerness,  "that  you  know  what  that  is?  You  are 
acquainted,  perhaps,  with  her  parentage?" 

She  returned  my  gaze  steadily. 

"  I  may  be,"  she  answered.  "  That,  however,  is 
beside  the  question.  I  intend  to  do  my  duty  by  the 
child.  If  you  have  been  put  to  any  expense  with 
regard  to  her,  you  can  mention  the  amount  and  I  will 
defray  it.  I  have  answered  enough  questions.  What 
is  your  name,  child  —  Isobel  ?  Get  ready  to  come 
with  me." 

Isobel  answered  her  steadily,  but  her  eyes  were 
filled  with  shrinking  fear. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  come  with  you/'  she  said.  "  I 
do  not  like  you  at  all." 

Lady  Delahaye  raised  her  eyebrows.  It  seemed 
to  me  that  in  a  quiet  way  she  was  becoming  angry. 

"  Unfortunately,"  she  said,  "  your  liking  or  dis- 
liking me  makes  very  little  difference.  I  have  no 
choice  in  the  matter  at  all.  The  care  of  you  has  de- 
volved upon  me,  and  I  must  undertake  it.  You  had 
better  come  at  once." 

Isobel  trembled  where  she  stood.  I  judged  it  time 
to  intervene. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  the  duty  of  looking 
after  this  child  is  evidently  a  distasteful  one  to  you. 
We  will  relieve  you  of  it.  She  can  remain  with  us." 

Lady    Delahaye   looked   at   me   in   astonishment. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  61 

Then  she  laughed,  and  it  seemed  to  all  of  us  that 
we  had  never  heard  a  more  unpleasant  travesty  of 
mirth. 

"  Indeed !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  And  may  I  ask  of 
whom  your  household  consists?" 

"  Of  myself  and  my  two  friends,  Mabane  and 
Fielding.  We  have  a  most  responsible  housekeeper, 
however,  who  will  be  able  to  look  after  the  child." 

"  Until  she  herself  can  qualify  for  the  position,  I 
presume,"  Lady  Delahaye  remarked  drily.  "  What 
a  delightful  arrangement!  A  sort  of  co-operative 
household.  Quite  Arcadian,  I  am  sure,  and  so  truly 
philanthropic.  You  have  changed  a  good  deal  dur- 
ing the  last  few  years,  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson,  to  be 
able  to  stand  there  and  make  such  an  extraordinary 
proposition  to  me." 

I  was  determined  not  to  lose  my  temper,  though, 
as  a  matter  of  fact,  I  was  fiercely  angry. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  we  are  not  prepared 
to  give  this  child  up  to  you.  It  will  perhaps  help  to 
shorten  a  —  a  painful  interview  if  you  will  accept 
that  from  me  as  final." 

The  change  in  Isobel  was  marvellous.  The  bril- 
liant colour  streamed  into  her  cheeks.  Her  long- 
drawn,  quivering  sigh  of  relief  seemed  in  the 
momentary  silence  which  followed  my  pronounce- 
ment a  very  audible  thing.  Lady  Delahaye  looked 
at  me  as  though  she  doubted  the  meaning  of  my 
words. 

"  You  are  aware,"  she  said,  "  that  this  will  mean 
great  unpleasantness  for  you.  You  know  the  law  ?  " 

"  I  neither  know  it  nor  wish  to  know  it,"  I  an- 
swered. "  We  shall  not  give  up  the  child." 


62  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

• 

I  glanced  at  Mabane.  His  confirmation  was  swift 
and  decisive. 

"  I  am  entirely  in  accord  with  my  friend,  madam," 
he  said,  with  grim  precision. 

"  The  law  will  compel  you,"  she  declared. 

"  We  will  do  our  best,  then,"  he  answered,  "  to 
cheat  the  law." 

"  I  should  like  to  add,  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  con- 
tinued, "  that  our  housekeeper,  who  has  been  in  the 
service  of  my  family  for  over  thirty  years,  has  will- 
ingly undertaken  the  care  of  the  child,  and  I  can 
assure  you,  in  case  you  should  have  any  anxieties 
concerning  her,  that  she  will  be  as  safe  under  our 
charge  as  in  your  own." 

Lady  Delahaye  moved  towards  the  door.  On  the 
threshold  she  turned  and  laid  her  hand  upon  my 
arm.  I  was  preparing  to  show  her  out.  There 
was  meaning  in  her  eyes  as  she  leaned  towards 
me. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  we  were  once  friends, 
or  I  should  drive  straight  from  here  to  my  solicitors. 
I  presume  you  are  aware  that  your  present  attitude 
is  capable  of  very  serious  misrepresentation?" 

"  I  must  take  the  risk  of  that,  Lady  Delahaye," 
I  answered.  "  I  ask  you  to  remember,  however,  that 
the  law  would  also  require  you  to  prove  your  guar- 
dianship. Do  you  yourself  know  anything  of  the 
child's  parentage  ?  " 

She  did  not  answer  me  directly. 

"  I  shall  give  you,"  she  said,  "  twenty-four  hours 
for  reflection.  At  the  end  of  that  time,  if  I  do  not 
hear  from  you,  I  shall  apply  to  the  courts." 

I  held  the  door  open  and  bowed. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  63 

''You  will  doubtless  act,"  I  said,  "  according  to 
your  discretion." 

The  moment  seemed  propitious  for  her  departure. 
All  that  had  to  be  said  had  surely  passed  between 
us.  Yet  she  seemed  for  some  reason  unwilling  to  go. 

"  I  am  not  sure,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  that  I 
can  find  my  way  out.  Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  see 
me  to  my  carriage  ?  " 

I  had  no  alternative  but  to  obey.  Our  rooms  were 
on  the  fifth  floor  of  a  block  of  flats  overlooking 
Chelsea  Embankment,  and  we  had  no  lift.  We  de- 
scended two  flights  of  the  stone  stairs  in  silence. 
Then  she  suddenly  laid  her  fingers  upon  my  arm. 

"  Arnold,"  she  said  softly,  "  I  never  thought  that 
we  should  meet  again  like  this." 

"  Nor  I,  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  answered,  truthfully 
enough. 

"  You  have  changed." 

I  looked  at  her.    She  had  the  grace  to  blush. 

"  Oh,  I  know  that  I  behaved  badly,"  she  mur- 
mured, "  but  think  how  poor  we  were,  and  oh,  how 
weary  I  was  of  poverty.  If  I  had  refused  Major 
Delahaye  I  think  that  my  mother  would  have  turned 
me  out  of  doors.  I  wrote  and  told  you  all  about  it." 

"Yes,"  I  admitted,  "you    wrote!" 

"  And  you  never  answered  my  letter." 

"  It  seemed  to  me,"  I  remarked,  "  that  it  needed 
no  answer." 

"  And  afterwards,"  she  said,  "  I  wrote  and  asked 
you  to  come  and  see  me." 

"  Lady  Delahaye "  I  began. 

"  Eileen !  "  she  interrupted. 

"  Very  well,  then,  if  you  will  have  it  so,  Eileen," 


64  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  said.  "  You  have  alluded  to  events  which  I  have 
forgotten.  Whether  you  or  I  behaved  well  or  ill 
does  not  matter  in  the  least  now.  It  is  all  over  and 
done  with." 

"  You  mean,  then,  that  I  am  unforgiven  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  assured  her,  "  I  have  noth- 
ing to  forgive." 

She  flashed  a  swift  glance  of  reproach  up  on  me. 
To  my  amazement  there  were  tears  in  her  eyes. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  I  can  find  my  way  to 
the  street  alone.  I  will  not  trouble  you  further." 

She  swept  away  with  a  dignity  which  became  her 
better  than  her  previous  attitude.  There  was  nothing 
left  for  me  to  do  but  to  turn  back. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  65 


CHAPTER   IX 

ISOBEL  was  standing  quite  still  in  the  middle  of 
the  room,  her  hands  tightly  clenched,  a  spot  of 
colour  aflame  in  her  cheeks.  Arthur,  who  had  passed 
Lady  Delahaye  and  me  upon  the  stairs,  had  appar- 
ently just  been  told  the  object  of  her  visit. 

"  Oh,  I  hate  that  woman ! "  Isobel  exclaimed  as 
I  entered,  "  I  hate  her !  I  would  rather  die  than  go 
to  her.  I  would  rather  go  back  to  the  convent.  She 
looks  at  me  as  though  I  were  something  to  be  de- 
spised, something  which  should  not  be  allowed  to  go 
alive  upon  the  earth !  " 

Arthur  would  have  spoken,  but  Mabane  interrupted 
him.  He  laid  his  hand  gently  upon  her  shoulder. 

"  Isobel,"  he  said  gently,  "  you  need  have  no  fear. 
I  know  how  Arnold  feels  about  it,  and  I  can  speak 
for  myself  also.  You  shall  not  go  to  her.  We  will 
not  give  you  up.  I  do  not  believe  that  she  will  go  to 
the  courts  at  all.  I  doubt  if  she  has  any  claim." 

"  Why,  we  'd  hide  you,  run  away  with  you,  any- 
thing," Arthur  declared  impetuously.  "  Don't  you 
be  scared,  Isobel,  I  don't  believe  she  can  do  a  thing. 
The  law  's  like  a  great  fat  animal.  It  takes  a  plaguey 
lot  to  move  it,  and  then  it  moves  as  slowly  as  a 
steam-roller.  We  '11  dodge  it  somehow." 

She  gave  them  a  hand  each.  Her  action  was 
almost  regal.  It  some  way,  it  seemed  that  in  accord- 


66  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

ing  her  our  protection  we  were  receiving  rather  than 
conferring  a  favour. 

"  My  friends,"  she  said,  "  you  are  so  kind  that 
I  have  no  words  with  which  to  thank  you.  But  you 
will  believe  that  I  am  grateful." 

It  was  then  for  the  first  time  that  they  saw  me  upon 
the  threshold.  Isobel  looked  at  me  anxiously. 

"She  has  gone?" 

I  nodded. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  she  will  trouble  us  again  just 
yet,"  I  said.  "  At  the  same  time,  we  must  be  pre- 
pared. Tell  me,  whereabouts  is  this  school  from 
which  you  came,  Isobel  ?  " 

"St.  Argueil?  It  is  about  three  hours'  journey 
from  Paris.  Why  do  you  ask?  " 

"  Because  I  think  that  I  must  go  there,"  I  an- 
swered. "  We  must  try  and  find  out  what  legal 
claims  Major  Delahaye  had  upon  you.  What  is  the 
name  of  the  Principal  ?  " 

"  Madame  Richard  is  the  lay  principal,"  Isobel 
answered,  "  but  Sister  Ursula  is  really  the  head  of 
the  place.  We  girls  saw  her,  though,  very  seldom  — 
only  those  who  were  going  to  remain,"  she  added, 
with  a  little  shudder. 

"  And  this  Madame  Richard,"  I  asked,  "  is  she 
a  kindly  sort  of  a  person  ?  " 

Isobel  shook  her  head  doubtfully. 

"  I  did  not  like  her,"  she  said.  "  She  is  very  stern. 
She  is  not  kind  to  anyone." 

"  Nevertheless,  I  suppose  she  will  tell  me  what 
she  knows,"  I  said.  "  Give  me  the  Bradshaw,  Allan, 
and  that  old  Continental  guide." 

I  presently  became  immersed  in  planning  out  my 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  67 

route.  When  at  last  I  looked  up,  Mabane  was  work- 
ing steadily.  The  others  had  gone.  I  looked  round 
the  room. 

"  Where  are  Arthur  and  Isobel  ?  "  I  asked. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"Like  calling  to  like,"  he  remarked  tersely.  "Thejr 
have  gone  trailing." 

I  put  the  Bradshaw  down. 

"  I  shall  leave  for  Paris  at  midnight,  Mabane/* 
I  said. 

He  nodded. 

"  It  seems  to  be  the  most  sensible  thing  to  do," 
he  remarked.  "  There  is  no  other  way  of  getting  to 
the  bottom  of  the  affair." 

So  I  went  to  pack  my  bag.  And  within  an  hour 
I  was  on  my  way  to  France. 

I  rose  to  my  feet,  after  a  somewhat  lengthy  wait, 
and  bowed.  Between  this  newcomer  and  myself, 
across  the  stone  floor,  lay  the  sunlight,  a  long,  yellow 
stream  which  seemed  to  me  the  only  living  thing 
which  I  had  as  yet  seen  in  this  strange,  grim-looking 
building.  I  spoke  in  indifferent  French.  She  an- 
swered me  in  perfect  English. 

"  I  have  the  honour  to  address " 

"  Madame  Richard.  I  am  the  lay  principal  of  the 
convent.  Will  you  permit  me  ?  " 

The  blind  fell,  and  there  was  no  more  sunlight. 
I  was  conscious  of  a  sudden  chill.  The  bare  room, 
with  its  stone-flagged  floor,  its  plain  deal  furniture, 
depressed  me  no  less  than  the  cold,  forbidding  ap- 
pearance of  the  woman  who  stood  now  motionless 
before  me.  She  was  paler  than  any  woman  whom. 


68  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  had  ever  seen  in  my  life.  A  living  person,  she 
seemed  the  personification  of  lifelessness.  Her  black 
hair  was  streaked  with  grey;  her  dress,  which  sug- 
gested a  uniform  in  its  severity,  knew  no  adornment 
save  the  plain  ivory  cross  which  hung  from  an  almost 
invisible  chain  about  her  neck.  Her  expression  indi- 
cated neither  curiosity  nor  courtesy.  She  simply 
waited.  I,  although  as  a  rule  I  had  no  great  difficulty 
in  finding  words,  felt  myself  almost  embarrassed. 

"  I  have  come  from  London  to  see  you,"  I  said. 
"  My  name  is  Greatson  —  Arnold  Greatson." 

There  was  not  a  quiver  of  expression  in  her  cold 
acknowledgment  of  my  declaration.  Nevertheless, 
at  that  moment  I  received  an  inspiration.  I  was 
perfectly  sure  that  she  knew  who  I  was  and  what 
I  had  come  for. 

"  I  have  come  to  know,"  I  continued,  "  if  you  can 
give  me  any  information  as  to  the  friends  or  par- 
entage of  a  young  lady  who  was  recently,  I  believe, 
a  pupil  of  yours  —  a  Miss  Isobel  de  Sorrens  ?  " 

"  The  young  lady  is  still  in  your  charge,  I  hear," 
Madame  Richard  remarked  quietly. 

Notwithstanding  my  inspiration  I  was  startled. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  We  despatched  a  messenger  only  yesterday  to 
escort  Isobel  back  here,"  Madame  Richard  answered. 
"  Your  address  was  the  destination  given  us." 

"  May  I  ask  who  gave  it  you  ?  At  whose  insti- 
gation you  sent  ?  " 

"  At  the  instigation  of  those  who  have  the  right 
to  consider  themselves  Isobel's  guardians,"  Madame 
JRichard  said  quietly. 

"  Isobel's  guardians ! "   I  repeated  softly.     "  But 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  69 

surely  you  know,  Madame  Richard  —  you  have  heard 
of  the  tragedy  which  happened  in  London?  Major 
Delahaye  died  last  week." 

"  We  have  been  informed  of  the  occurrence,"  she 
answered,  her  tone  as  perfectly  emotionless  as  though 
she  had  been  discussing  the  veriest  trifle.  "  We 
were  content  to  recognize  Major  Delahaye  as  repre- 
senting those  who  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  Isobel's 
future.  His  death,  however,  alters  many  things. 
Isobel  will  be  placed  in  even  surer  hands." 

"  Isobel  has,  I  presume,  then,  relatives  living  ?  " 
I  remarked.  "  May  I  know  their  names?  " 

Madame  Richard  was  silent  for  a  moment.  She 
was  regarding  me  steadily.  I  even  fancied  that  the 
ghost  of  a  hard  smile  trembled  upon  her  lips. 

"  I  have  no  authority  to  disclose  any  information 
whatever,"  she  said. 

I  bowed. 

"  I  have  no  desire  to  seem  inquisitive,"  I  said. 
"  On  the  other  hand,  I  and  my  friends  are  greatly 
interested  in  the  child.  I  will  be  frank  with  you, 
Madame  Richard.  We  have  no  claim  upon  her,  I 
know,  but  we  should  certainly  require  to  know  some- 
thing about  the  people  into  whose  charge  she  was 
to  pass  before  we  gave  her  up." 

"  She  is  to  come  back  here,"  Madame  Richard 
answered  calmly.  "  We  are  ready  to  receive  her. 
She  has  lived  with  us  for  ten  years.  I  presume  under 
the  circumstances,  and  when  I  add  that  it  is  the 
desire  of  those  who  are  responsible  for  her  that  she 
should  immediately  return  to  us,  that  you  will  not 
hesitate  to  send  her  ?  " 

"  Madame   Richard,"   I  answered  gravely,   "  you 


70  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

who  live  so  far  from  the  world  lose  touch  sometimes 
with  its  worst  side.  We  others,  to  our  sorrow,  know 
more,  though  our  experience  is  dearly  enough  bought. 
Let  me  tell  you  that  I  should  hesitate  at  any  time  to 
give  back  the  child  into  the  care  of  those  who  sent 
her  out  into  the  world  alone  with  such  a  man  as 
Major  Delahaye." 

Madame  Richard  touched  the  cross  which  hung 
upon  her  bosom.  Her  eyes,  it  seemed  to  me,  nar- 
rowed a  little. 

"  Major  Delahaye,"  she  said,  "  was  the  nominee 
of  those  who  have  the  right  to  dispose  of  the  child." 

"  Then,"  I  answered,  "  I  shall  require  their  right 
proven  before  Isobel  leaves  us.  I  do  not  wish  to 
speak  ill  of  the  dead,  but  I  was  present  when  Major 
Delahaye  was  shot,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  the  bullet 
of  his  assassin  did  not  prevent  a  worse  crime.  The 
child  was  terrified  to  death.  It  is  my  honest  con- 
yiction  that  her  fear  was  not  uncalled  for." 

Madame  Richard  raised  her  hand  slightly. 

"  Monsieur,"  she  said,  "  such  matters  are  not  our 
concern.  It  is  because  of  the  passions  and  evil  doing 
of  the  world  outside  that  we  cling  so  closely  here 
to  our  own  doctrine  of  isolation.  Whatever  she  may 
have  suffered,  Isobel  will  learn  to  forget  here.  In 
the  blessed  years  which  lie  before  her,  the  memory 
of  her  unhappy  pilgrimage  will  grow  dim  and  faint. 
It  may  even  be  for  the  best  that  she  has  realized  for  a 
moment  the  shadow  of  evil  things." 

"  Isobel  is  intended,  then  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  For  the  Church,"  Madame  Richard  answered. 
"  That  is  the  present  decision  of  those  who  have  the 
right  to  decide  for  her.  We  ourselves  do  not  care 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  71 

to  take  pupils  who  have  no  idea  at  all  of  the  novitiate. 
Occasionally  we  are  disappointed,  and  those  in  whom 
we  have  placed  faith  are  tempted  back  into  the  world. 
But  we  do  our  best  while  they  are  here  to  show  them 
the  better  way.  We  feared  that  we  had  lost  Isobel. 
We  shall  be  all  the  more  happy  to  welcome  her  back." 

I  shivered  a  little.  I  could  not  help  feeling  the 
cold  repression  of  the  place.  A  vision  of  thin,  grey- 
gowned  figures,  with  pallid  faces  and  weary,  dis- 
contented eyes,  haunted  me.  I  tried  to  fancy  Isobel 
amongst  them.  It  was  preposterous. 

"  Madame,"  I  said,  "  I  do  not  believe  that  Isobel 
is  adapted  by  nature  or  disposition  for  such  a  life." 

"  The  desire  for  holiness,"  Madame  Richard  an- 
swered, "  is  never  very  apparent  in  the  young.  It 
is  the  child's  great  good  fortune  that  she  will  grow 
into  it." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  I  answered,  "  that  our  views  upon 
this  matter  are  too  far  apart  to  render  discussion 
profitable.  You  have  spoken  of  those  who  have  the 
right  to  dispose  of  the  child's  future.  I  will  go  and 
see  them." 

"  It  is  not  necessary,"  Madame  Richard  answered. 
"  We  will  send  to  England  for  the  child." 

"  Do  I  understand,  Madame  Richard,"  I  said, 
"  that  you  decline  to  give  me  the  address  of  those 
who  stand  behind  you  in  the  disposal  of  Isobel  ?  " 

"  They  would  not  discuss  the  matter  with  you," 
she  answered  calmly.  "  Their  decision  is  already 
made.  Isobel  is  for  the  Church." 

I  took  up  my  hat. 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  any  further,  Madame,"  1 
said. 


72  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

"  A  messenger  is  already  in  London  to  bring  back 
the  child,"  she  remarked. 

"As  to  that,"  I  answered,  "  it  is  perhaps  better 
to  be  frank  with  you,  Madame  Richard.  .Your 
messenger  will  return  alone." 

For  the  first  time  the  woman's  face  showed  some 
signs  of  feeling.  Her  dark  eyebrows  contracted  a 
little.  Her  expression  was  coldly  repellent. 

"  You  have  no  claim  upon  the  child,"   she  said. 

"  Neither  do  I  know  of  any  other  person  who  has," 
I  answered. 

"  We  have  had  the  charge  of  her  for  ten  years. 
That  itself  is  a  claim.  It  is  unseemly  that  she  should 
remain  with  you." 

"  Madame,"  I  answered,  "  Isobel  is  meant  for  life 
—  not  a  living  death." 

The  woman  crossed  herself. 

"  There  is  but  one  life,"  she  said.  "  We  wish  to 
prepare  Isobel  for  it." 

"  Madame,"  I  said,  "  as  to  that,  argument  between, 
us  is  impossible.  I  shall  consult  with  my  friends. 
Your  messenger  shall  bring  back  word  as  to  our 
decision." 

The  face  of  the  woman  grew  darker. 

"  But  surely,"  she  protested,  "  you  will  not  dare 
to  keep  the  child  ?  " 

"  Madame,"  I  answered,  "  humanity  makes  some- 
times strange  claims  upon  us.  Isobel  is  as  yet  a 
child.  She  came  into  my  keeping  by  the  strangest 
of  chances.  I  did  not  seek  the  charge  of  her.  It 
was,  to  tell  the  truth,  an  embarrassment  to  me.  Yet 
she  is  under  my  care  to-day,  and  I  shall  do  what  I 
believe  to  be  the  right  thing." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  73 

"  Monsieur,"  she  said,  "  you  are  interfering  in 
matters  greater  than  you  have  any  knowledge  of." 

"  It  is  in  your  power,"  I  reminded  her,  "  to  en- 
lighten me." 

"It  is  not  a  power  which  I  am  able  to  use,"  she 
answered. 

"  Then  I  will  not  detain  you  further,  Madame," 
I  said. 

As  I  passed  out  she  leaned  over  towards  me.  She 
had  already  rung  a  bell,  and  outside  I  could  hear 
the  shuffling  footsteps  of  the  old  servant  who  had 
admitted  me. 

"  Monsieur,"  she  said,  "  if  you  keep  the  child  you 
make  enemies  —  very  powerful  enemies.  It  is  long 
since  I  lived  in  the  world,  but  I  think  that  the  times 
have  not  changed  very  much.  Of  the  child's  par- 
entage I  may  not  tell  you,  but  as  I  hope  for  salvation 
I  will  tell  you  this.  It  will  be  better  for  you,  and 
better  for  the  child,  that  she  comes  back  here,  even  to 
embrace  what  you  have  called  the  living  death." 

"  Madame,"  I  said,  "  I  will  consider  all  these 
things." 

"  It  will  be  well  for  you  to  do  so,  Monsieur,"  she 
said  with  meaning.  "  An  enemy  of  those  in  whose 
name  I  have  spoken  must  needs  be  a  holy  man,  for 
he  lives  hand  in  hand  with  death." 


74  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   X 

SO  I  was  driven  back  to  Argueil,  the  red-tiled, 
sleepy  old  town,  with  its  great  gaunt  church, 
whose  windows,  as  the  lumbering  cart  descended 
the  hill,  were  stained  blood-red  by  the  dying  sunset. 
Behind,  on  the  hillside,  was  the  convent,  with  its 
avenue  of  stunted  elms,  its  close-barred  windows,  its 
terrible  prison-like  silence.  As  I  looked  behind,  hold- 
ing on  to  the  sides  of  the  springless  cart  to  avoid 
being  jostled  into  the  road,  I  found  myself  shiver- 
ing. The  convent  boarding-schools  which  I  had  heard 
of  had  been  very  different  sort  of  places.  Even 
after  my  brief  visit  there  this  return  into  the  fresh 
country  air,  the  smell  of  the  fields,  the  colour  and 
life  of  the  rolling  landscape,  were  blessed  things. 
I  was  more  than  ever  satisfied  with  my  decision. 
It  was  not  possible  to  send  the  child  back  to  such 
a  place. 

Across  a  great  vineyard  plain,  through  which  the 
narrow  white  road  ran  like  a  tightly  drawn  band  of 
ribbon,  I  came  presently  to  the  village  of  Argueil. 
The  street  which  led  to  the  inn  was  paved  with  the 
most  abominable  cobbles,  and  I  was  forced  to  hold 
my  hat  with  one  hand  and  the  side  of  the  cart  with 
the  other.  My  blue-smocked  driver  pulled  up  with 
a  flourish  in  front  of  the  ancient  gateway  of  the 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  75 

Leon  d'Or,  and  I  was  very  nearly  precipitated  on  to 
the  top  of  the  broad-backed  horse.  As  I  gathered 
myself  together  I  was  conscious  of  a  soft  peal  of 
laughter  —  a  woman's  laughter,  which  came  from 
the  arched  entrance  to  the  inn.  I  looked  up  quickly. 
A  too  familiar  figure  was  standing  there  watching 
me,  —  Lady  Delahaye,  trim,  elegant,  a  trifle  super- 
cilious. By  her  side  stood  the  innkeeper,  white- 
aproned  and  obsequious. 

I  clambered  down  on  to  the  pavement,  and  Lady 
Delahaye  advanced  a  little  way  to  meet  me.  She 
held  out  a  delicately  gloved  hand,  and  smiled. 

"  You  must  forgive  my  laughing,  Arnold,"  she 
said.  "  Really,  you  looked  too  funny  in  that  terrible 
cart.  What  an  odd  meeting,  isn't  it?  Have  you  a 
few  minutes  to  spare?" 

"  I  believe,"  I  answered,  "  that  I  cannot  get  away 
from  this  place  till  the  evening.  Shall  we  go  in  and 
sit  down  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  The  inn-parlour  is  too  stuffy,"  she  answered.  "  I 
was  obliged  to  come  out  myself  for  some  fresh  air. 
Let  us  walk  up  the  street." 

I  paid  for  my  conveyance,  and  we  strolled  along 
the  broad  sidewalk.  Lady  Delahaye  seemed  inclined 
to  thrust  the  onus  of  commencing  our  conversation 
upon  me. 

"  I  presume,"  I  said,  "  that  we  are  here  with  the 
same  object?  " 

She  glanced  at  me  curiously. 

"Indeed!"  she  remarked.  "Then  tell  me  why 
you  came." 

"  To  discover  that  child's  parentage,  if  possible," 


76  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  answered  promptly.  "  I  want  to  discover  who  her 
friends  are,  who  really  has  the  right  to  take  charge 
of  her." 

"  You  perplex  me,  Arnold,"  she  said  thought- 
fully. "  I  do  not  understand  your  position  in  the 
matter.  I  always  looked  upon  you  as  a  somewhat 
indolent  person.  Yet  I  find  you  now  taking  any 
amount  of  trouble  in  a  matter  which  really  does 
not  concern  you  at  all.  Whence  all  this  good- 
nature?" 

"Lady  Delahaye " 

"  Eileen,"  she  interrupted  softly. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  answered  firmly.  "  You  must 
forgive  me  if  I  remind  you  that  I  have  no  longer  the 
right  to  call  you  by  any  other  name.  I  am  not  good- 
natured,  and  I  am  afraid  that  I  am  still  indolent. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  interested  in  this  child,  and  I  in- 
tend to  do  my  utmost  to  prevent  her  returning  to  this 
place." 

"  I  am  still  in  the  dark,"  she  said,  looking  at  me 
curiously.  "  She  is  nothing  to  you.  A  more  un- 
suitable home  for  her  than  with  three  young  men 
I  cannot  imagine.  You  seem  to  want  to  keep  her 
there.  Why?  She  is  a  child  to-day,  it  is  true — • 
but  in  little  more  than  a  year's  time  she  will  be  a 
woman.  The  position  then  for  you  will  be  full  of 
embarrassments." 

"  I  find  the  position  now,"  I  answered,  "  equally 
embarrassing.  We  can  only  give  the  child  up  to 
you,  send  her  back  to  the  convent,  or  keep  her  our- 
selves. Of  the  three  we  prefer  to  keep  her." 

"  You  seem  to  have  a  great  distaste  for  the  con- 
vent," she  remarked,  "  but  that  is  because  you  are 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  77 

not  a  Catholic,  and  you  do  not  understand  these 
things.  She  would  at  least  be  safe  there,  and  in 
time,  I  think,  happy." 

We  were  at  the  head  of  the  village  street  now, 
upon  a  slight  eminence.  I  pointed  backwards  to  the 
prison-like  building,  standing  grim  and  desolate  on 
the  bare  hillside. 

"  I  should  consider  myself  no  less  a  murderer  than 
the  man  who  shot  your  husband,"  I  answered,  "  i£ 
I  sent  her  there.  I  have  made  all  the  enquiries  I 
could  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  I  have  added  to> 
them  my  own  impressions.  The  secular  part  of  the 
place  may  be  conducted  as  other  places  of  its  sort, 
but  the  great  object  of  Madame  Richard's  sister  is. 
to  pass  her  pupils  from  that  into  the  religious  por- 
tion. Isobel  is  not  adapted  for  such  a  life." 

Lady  Delahaye  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  am  a  Catholic,  so  of  course 
I  don't  agree  with  you.  But  why  do  you  hesitate  to 
give  the  child  up  to  me  ?  " 

I  was  silent  for  a  moment.  It  was  not  easy  to 
put  my  feeling  into  words. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  you  must  forgive  my 
reminding  you  that  on  the  occasion  of  your  yisit  to 
us  you  did  not  attempt  to  conceal  the  fact  that  your 
feelings  towards  her  were  inimical.  Beyond  that,  I 
was  pledged  not  to  hand  her  back  into  your  husband's 
care,  and " 

"  Pledged  by  whom?"  she  asked  quickly. 

"  I  am  afraid,"  I  said,  "  that  I  cannot  answer  you 
that  question." 

She  flashed  an  angry  glance  upon  me. 

"  You  pretend  that  the  man  who  called  himself 


fr8  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Grooten  was  not  your  friend.  Yet  you  have  been 
in  communication  with  him  since ! " 

"  I  saw  Mr.  Grooten  for  the  first  time  in  my  life 
on  the  morning  of  that  day,"  I  answered. 

"  You  know  where  he  is  now  ?  "  she  asked,  watch- 
ing me  keenly. 

"  I  have  not  the  slightest  idea.  I  wish  that  I  did 
know,"  I  declared  truthfully.  "  There  is  no  man 
whom  I  am  more  anxious  to  see." 

"You  would,  of  course,  inform  the  police?"  she 
asked. 

"  I  am  afraid  not,"  I  answered. 

Again  she  was  angry.  This  time  scarcely  without 
reason. 

"  Your  sympathies,  in  short,  are  with  the  murderer 
rather  than  with  his  victim  —  the  man  who  was  shot 
without  warning  in  the  back?  It  accords,  I  presume, 
with  your  idea  of  fair  play  ?  " 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  the  subject  is  unpleas- 
ant and  futile.  Let  us  return  to  the  inn." 

She  turned  abruptly  around.  She  made  a  little 
motion  as  of  dismissal,  but  I  remained  by  her 
side. 

"  By-the-bye,"  I  said,  "  we  were  to  exchange 
confidences.  You  are  here,  of  course,  to  visit  the 
convent  ?  Why  ?  " 

She  smiled  enigmatically. 

"  I  am  not  sure,  my  very  simple  conspirator,"  she 
said,  "  whether  I  will  imitate  your  frankness.  You 
see,  you  have  blundered  into  a  somewhat  more  im- 
portant matter  than  you  have  any  idea  of.  But  I 
will  tell  you  this,  if  you  like.  You  may  call  that 
place  a  prison,  or  any  hard  names  you  please  —  yet 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  79 

it  is  destined  to  be  Isobel's  home.  Not  only  that,  but 
it  is  her  only  chance.  I  am  putting  you  on  your 
guard,  you  see,  but  I  do  not  think  that  it  matters. 
You  are  fighting  against  hopeless  odds,  and  if  by 
any  chance  you  should  succeed,  your  success  would 
be  the  most  terrible  thing  which  could  happen  to 
Isobel." 

I  walked  by  her  side  for  a  moment  in  silence. 
There  was  in  her  words  and  tone  some  underlying 
note  of  fear,  some  suggestion  of  hidden  danger, 
which  brought  back  to  my  mind  at  once  the  fare- 
well speech  of  Madame  Richard.  There  was  some- 
thing ominous,  too,  in  her  presence  here. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  as  lightly  as  possible, 
"  you  have  told  me  a  great  deal,  and  less  than  noth- 
ing at  all.  Yet  I  gather  that  you  know  more  about 
the  child  and  her  history  than  you  have  led  me  to 
suppose," 

"  Yes,"  she  admitted,  "  that  is  perhaps  true." 

"  Why  not  let  me  share  your  knowledge?  "  I  sug- 
gested boldly. 

"  You  carry  candour,"  she  remarked,  smiling,  "  to 
absurdity.  We  are  on  opposite  sides.  Ah,  how  de- 
licious this  is ! " 

We  were  regaining  the  centre  of  the  little  town 
by  a  footpath  which  for  some  distance  had  followed 
the  river,  and  now,  turning  almost  at  right  angles, 
skirted  a  cherry  orchard  in  late  blossom.  The  per- 
fume of  the  pink  and  white  buds,  swaying  slightly 
in  the  breeze,  came  to  us  both  —  a  waft  of  delicate 
and  poignant  freshness.  Lady  Delahaye  stood  still, 
and  half  closed  her  eyes. 

"  How  perfectly  delicious,"  she  murmured.  "Am — 


8o  THE    MASTER    MUMMER 

Mr.  Greatson,  do  get  me  just  the  tiniest  piece.  I  can't 
quite  reach." 

I  broke  off  a  small  branch,  and  she  thrust  it  into 
the  bosom  of  her  dress.  The  orchard  was  gay  with 
bees  and  a  few  early  butterflies,  blue  and  white  and 
orange  coloured.  In  the  porch  of  a  red-tiled  cottage 
a  few  yards  away  a  girl  was  singing.  Suddenly  I 
stopped  and  pointed. 

"Look!" 

An  avenue  with  a  gate  at  the  end  led  through  the 
orchard,  and  under  the  drooping  boughs  we  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  convent  away  on  the  hillside.  Greyer 
and  more  stern  than  ever  it  seemed  through  the  deli- 
cate framework  of  soft  green  foliage  and  blossoms. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  you  are  yourself  a 
young  woman.  Could  you  bear  to  think  "of  banish- 
ing from  your  life  for  ever  all  the  colour  and  the 
sweet  places,  all  the  joy  of  living?  Would  you  be 
content  to  build  for  yourself  a  tomb,  to  commit  your- 
self to  a  living  death  ?  "  . 

She  answered  me  instantly,  almost  impulsively. 

"  There  is  all  the  difference  in  the  world,"  she 
declared.  "  I  am  a  woman ;  although  I  am  not  old, 
I  know  what  life  is.  I  know  what  it  would  be  to 
give  it  up.  But  the  child  —  she  knows  nothing.  She 
is  too  young  to  know  what  lies  before  her.  As  yet 
her  eyes  are  not  opened.  Very  soon  she  would  be 
content  there." 

I  shook  my  head.  I  did  not  agree  with  Lady 
Delahaye. 

"  Indeed  no !  "  I  protested.  "  You  reckon  nothing 
for  disposition.  In  her  heart  the  song  of  life  is  al- 
ready formed,  the  joy  of  it  is  already  stirring  in  her 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  8r 

blood.  The  convent  would  be  slow  torture  to  her. 
She  shall  not  go  there !  " 

Lady  Delahaye  smiled  —  mirthlessly,  yet  as  one 
who  has  some  hidden  knowledge  which  she  may  not 
share. 

"  You  think  yourself  her  friend,"  she  said.  "  In 
reality  you  are  her  enemy.  If  not  the  convent,  then 
worse  may  befall  her." 

I  shrugged  my  shoulders. 

"  As  to  that,"  I  said,  "  we  shall  see!  " 

We  resumed  our  walk.  Again  we  were  nearing1 
the  inn.  Lady  Delahaye  looked  at  me  every  now  and 
then  curiously.  My  feeling  towards  her  had  grown 
more  and  more  belligerent. 

"  You  puzzle  me,  Arnold,"  she  said  softly.  "  After 
all,  Isobel  is  but  a  child.  What  cunning  tune  can  she 
have  played  upon  your  heartstrings  that  you  should 
espouse  her  cause  with  so  much  fervour?  If  she  were 
a  few  years  older  one  could  perhaps  understand." 

I  disregarded  her  innuendo. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  if  you  were  as  much 
h£r  friend  as  I  believe  that  I  am,  you  would  not 
hesitate  to  tell  me  all  that  you  know.  I  have  no 
other  wish  than  to  see  her  safe,  and  amongst  her 
friends,  but  I  will  give  her  up  to  no  one  whom  I 
believe  to  be  her  enemy." 

"  Arnold,"  she  answered  gravely,  "  I  can  only  re- 
peat what  I  have  told  you  before.  You  are  inter- 
fering in  greater  concerns  than  you  know  of.  Even 
if  I  would,  I  dare  not  give  you  any  information. 
The  fate  of  this  child,  insignificant  in  herself  though 
she  is,  is  bound  up  with  very  important  issues." 

Our  eyes  met  for  a  moment.  The  expression  in. 

6 


182  THE    MASTER  .MUMMER 

hers  puzzled  me  —  puzzled  me  to  such  an  extent  that 
I  made  her  no  answer.  Slowly  she  extended  her 
hand. 

"  At  least,"  she  said,  "  let  us  part  friends  —  unless 
you  choose  to  be  gallant  and  wait  here  for  me  until 
to-morrow.  It  is  a  dreary  journey  home  alone." 

I  took  her  hand  readily  enough. 

"  Friends,  by  all  means,"  I  answered,  "  but  I 
must  get  back  to  Paris  to-night.  A  messenger  from 
Madame  Richard  is  already  waiting  for  me  in 
London." 

She  withdrew  her  hand  quickly,  and  turned  away. 

"  It  must  be  as  you  will,  of  course,"  she  said  coldly. 
"  I  do  not  wish  to  detain  you." 

Nevertheless,  her  farewell  look  haunted  me  as  I 
sped  across  the  great  fertile  plain  on  my  way  to 
Paris. 


THE    MASTER    MUMMER  83 


CHAPTER    XI 

MABANE  laid  down  his  brush,  Arthur  sprang 
from  his  seat  upon  the  table  and  greeted  me 
with  a  shout.  Isobel  said  nothing,  but  her  dark  blue 
eyes  were  fastened  upon  my  face  as  though  seeking 
to  read  her  fate  there.  They  had  evidently  been 
waiting  for  my  coming.  I  remember  thinking  it 
strange,  even  then,  that  these  other  two  men  should 
apparently  share  to  the  fullest  degree  my  own  interest 
in  the  child's  fate. 

"  I  have  failed,"  I  announced  shortly. 

I  took  Isobel' s  hand.  It  was  cold  as  ice,  and  I 
could  feel  that  she  was  trembling  violently. 

"  Madame  Richard  would  tell  me  nothing,  Isobel," 
I  said.  "  I  believe  that  she  knows  all  about  you,  and 
I  believe  that  Lady  Delahaye  does  too.  But  they 
will  tell  me  nothing." 

"  And  ? "  she  demanded,  with  quivering  lips. 
"And?"  . 

"  It  is  for  you  to  decide,"  I  said  gravely.  "  Lady 
Delahaye  wants  you,  so  does  Madame  Richard.  On 
the  other  hand,  if  you  like  to  stay  with  us  until  some- 
one proves  their  right  to  take  you  away,  you  will  be 
very  welcome,  Isobel!  Stop  one  moment,"  I  added 
hastily,  for  I  saw  the  quick  colour  stream  into  her 
cheeks,  and  the  impetuous  words  already  trembling 
upon  her  lips,  "  I  want  you  to  remember  this : 
Madame  Richard  makes  no  secret  of  her  own  wishes 


«4  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

as  regards  your  future.  She  desires  you  to  take  the 
veil.  You  have  lived  at  the  convent,  so  I  presume 
you  are  able  to  judge  for  yourself  as  regards  that. 
Lady  Delahaye,  on  the  other  hand,  is  a  rich  woman, 
and  she  professes  to  be  your  friend.  Your  life  with 
her,  if  she  chose  to  make  it  so,  would  be  an  easy  and 
a  pleasant  one.  We,  as  you  know,  are  poor.  We 
have  very  little  indeed  to  offer  you.  We  live  what 
most  people  call  a  shiftless  life.  We  have  money  one 
day,  and  none  the  next.  Our  surroundings  and  our 
associations  are  not  in  the  least  like  what  a  child  of 
your  age  should  become  accustomed  to.  Nine  people 
out  of  ten  would  probably  pronounce  us  utterly  un- 
suitable guardians  for  you.  It  is  only  right  that  you 
should  understand  these  things." 

She  looked  at  me  with  tear-bedimmed  eyes. 

"  I  want  to  stay  with  you,"  she  pleaded.  "  Don't 
send  me  away  —  oh,  don't !  I  hate  the  convent,  and 
I  am  afraid  of  Lady  Delahaye.  I  will  do  everything 
I  can  not  to  be  a  nuisance  to  you.  I  am  not  afraid 
to  work,  or  to  help  Mrs.  Burdett.  Only  let  me  stay." 

I  smiled,  and  looked  around  at  the  others. 

"  It  is  settled,"  I  declared.  "  We  appoint  our- 
selves your  guardians.  You  agree,  Mabane  ?  " 

"  Most  heartily,"  he  answered. 

"And  you,  Arthur?" 

"  Great  heavens,  yes ! "  he  answered  vehemently. 

;<  You  are  very  good,"  she  murmured,  "  very  good 
to  me.  All  my  life  I  shall  remember  this." 

She  held  out  both  her  hands.  Her  eyes  were 
fixed  still  upon  mine.  Mabane  laid  his  hand  upon 
her  shoulder. 

"  Dear  child,"  he  said,  "  do  not  forget  that  there 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  85 

are  three  of  us.  I  too  am  very  happy  to  be  one  of 
your  guardians." 

She  gave  him  the  hand  which  Arthur  had  seized 
upon.  I  think  that  we  had  none  of  us  before  seen  a 
smile  so  dazzling  as  hers. 

"  Dear  friends,"  she  murmured,  "  I  only  hope  that 
you  will  never  regret  this  great,  great  kindness." 

Then  suddenly  she  flitted  away  and  went  to  her 
room.  We  three  men  were  left  alone. 

I  think  that  for  the  first  few  moments  there  was 
some  slight  awkwardness,  for  we  were  men,  and  we 
spoke  seldom  of  the  things  which  touched  us  most. 
Arthur,  however,  broke  almost  immediately  into 
speech,  and  relieved  the  tension. 

"  And  to  think  that  it  was  I,"  he  exclaimed,  "  who 
sent  you  out  plot  hunting  to  the  station!  Arnold, 
what  a  sensible  chap  you  are ! " 

We  all  laughed. 

"  A  good  many  people,"  Mabane  remarked  quietly, 
"  would  call  us  three  fools.  Tell  us,  Arnold,  did  you 
really  discover  nothing?  " 

"  Absolutely  nothing,"  I  declared.  "  Stop,  though. 
I  did  find  out  this.  There  is  some  secret  about  the 
child's  parentage.  I  have  spoken  with  two  people 
who  know  it,  and  one  of  them  warned  me  that  in 
keeping  the  child  we  were  interfering  in  a  greater 
matter  than  we  had  any  idea  of.  Of  course  it  might 
have  been  a  bluff,  but  I  fancy  that  Lady  Delahaye 
was  in  earnest." 

"  You  do  not  think,"  Mabane  asked,  "  that  she  was 
Major  Delahaye's  daughter?" 

"  I  do  not,"  I  answered,  with  a  little  shudder.  "  I 
am  sure  that  she  was  not." 


86  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Whoever  she  is,"  Arthur  declared,  "  there  's  one 
thing  jolly  certain,  and  that  is  she's  thoroughbred. 
She  has  the  most  marvellous  nerve  I  ever  knew.  We 
got  in  a  tight  corner  this  morning.  I  took  her  down 
to  Guildford  in  a  trailer,  and  I  had  to  jump  the  pave- 
ment to  avoid  a  runaway.  She  never  flinched  for  a 
moment.  Half  the  girls  I  know  would  have  squealed 
like  mad.  She  only  laughed,  and  asked  whether  she 
should  get  out.  She  's  as  thoroughbred  as  they  make 
them." 

"  Perhaps,"  I  answered,  "  but  I  'm  not  going  to 
have  you  risk  her  life  with  your  beastly  motoring, 
Arthur.  Take  her  out  in  a  car,  if  you  want  to. 
Who's  this?" 

We  turned  towards  the  door.  Was  it  the  ghost  of 
Madame  Richard  who  stood  there  pale,  cold,  and  in 
the  sombre  garb  of  her  sisterhood? 

"  This  lady  has  been  before,"  Mabane  said,  placing 
a  chair  for  her.  "  She  has  come  from  the  convent, 
and  she  brought  a  letter  from  Madame  Richard." 

"  You  are  Mr.  Greatson?  "  she  asked. 

I  bowed,  and  took  the  letter  which  she  handed  to 
me.  I  tore  it  open.  It  contained  a  few  lines  only. 


"  I  have  been  informed  of  the  unfortunate  event  which 
has  placed  under  your  protection  one  of  my  late  pupils, 
Isobel  de  Sorrens.  We  are  willing  and  anxious  to 
receive  her  back  here,  and  I  have  sent  the  bearer  to 
accompany  her  upon  the  journey.  She  will  also  de- 
fray what  expenses  her  sojourn  with  you  may  have 
occasioned. 

"  I  am,  sir,  yours  respectfully, 

"  EMILY  RICHARD." 


(THE   MASTER   MUMMER  8^ 

I  put  the  letter  back  in  the  envelope  and  laid  it 
upon  the  table. 

"I  have  seen  Madame  Richard,"  I  said.  "The 
child  will  remain  with  us  for  the  present." 

The  cold,  dark  eyes  met  mine  searchingly. 

"  But,  monsieur,"  the  woman  said,  "  how  can 
that  be?  You  are  not  a  relative,  you  surely  have 
no  claim " 

"  It  will  save  time,  perhaps,"  I  interrupted,  "  if  I 
explain  that  I  have  discussed  all  these  matters  with 
Madame  Richard,  and  the  decision  which  I  have  come 
to  is  final.  The  child  remains  here." 

The  woman  looked  at  me  steadfastly. 

"  Madame  Richard  will  not  be  satisfied  with  that 
decision,"  she  said.  "  You  will  be  forced  to  give 
her  up." 

"  And  why,"  I  asked,  "  should  a  penniless  orphan, 
as  I  understand  Isobel  is,  be  of  so  much  interest  to 
Madame  Richard  ?  " 

The  woman  watched  me  still,  and  listened  to  my 
words  as  though  seeking  to  discover  in  them  some 
hidden  meaning.  Then  she  leaned  a  little  towards 
me. 

"  Can  I  speak  with  you  alone,  monsieur?  "  she  said. 

"  These  are  my  friends,"  I  answered,  "  from  whom 
I  have  no  secrets." 

"None?" 

"  None,"  I  repeated. 

She  hesitated.  Then,  although  the  door  was  fast 
closed,  she  dropped  her  voice. 

"  You  know  —  who  the  child  is,"  she  said  softly. 

"  Upon  my  word,  I  do  not,"  I  answered.  "  I  saw 
the  man,  under  whose  care  she  was,  shot,  and  I 


88  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

brought  her  here  because  she  was  friendless.  I  know 
no  more  about  her." 

"  That,"  she  said  quietly,  "  is  hard  to  believe." 

"  I  have  no  interest  in  your  belief  or  disbelief," 
I  answered.  "  Pardon  me  if  I  add,  madame,  that 
I  have  no  interest  in  the  continuation  of  this 
conversation." 

She  rose  at  once. 

"  You  are  either  a  very  brave  man,"  she  said,  "  or 
a  very  simple  one.  I  shall  await  further  instructions 
from  Madame  Richard." 

She  departed  silently  and  without  any  leave-taking. 
[We  all  three  looked  at  one  another. 

"  Now  what  in  thunder  did  she  mean  by  that ! " 
Arthur  exclaimed  blankly. 

"  It  appears  to  me,"  Mabane  said,  "  that  you  went 
plot  hunting  with  a  vengeance,  Arnold." 

Arthur  was  walking  restlessly  up  and  down  the 
room,  his  hands  in  his  pockets,  a  discontented  frown 
upon  his  smooth  young  face.  He  stopped  suddenly 
in  front  of  us. 

"  I  don't  know  much  about  the  law,  you  fellows," 
he  said,  "  but  it  seems  to  me  that  any  of  these  people 
who  seem  to  want  to  take  Isobel  away  from  us  have 
only  to  go  before  the  court  and  establish  some  sort 
of  a  legal  claim,  and  we  should  have  to  give  her 
WP." 

"  That  is  true  enough,"  I  admitted.  "  The  strange 
part  of  it  is,  though,  that  no  one  seems  inclined  to 
take  this  course." 

Arthur  threw  down  a  letter  upon  the  table. 

"  This  came  for  you  yesterday,  Arnold,"  he  said. 
"  I  have  n't  opened  it,  of  course,  but  you  can  see  from 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  89 

the  name  at  the  back  of  the  envelope  that  it  is  from 
a  firm  of  solicitors." 

I  took  it  up  and  opened  it  at  once.  I  knew  quite 
well  what  Arthur  feared.  This  is  what  I  read  — 

"  17,  LINCOLN'S  INN,  LONDON. 
"  DEAR  SIR,  — 

"  We  beg  to  inform  you  that  we  have  been  instructed 
by  a  client,  who  desires  to  remain  anonymous,  to  open 
for  you  at  the  London  and  Westminster  Bank  an  account 
on  your  behalf  as  guardian  of  Miss  Isobel  de  Sorrens, 
a  young  lady  who,  we  understand,  is  at  present  in  your 
care. 

"  The  amount  placed  at  our  disposal  is  three  hundred 
a  year.  We  shall  be  happy  to  furnish  you  with  cheque 
book  and  full  authority  to  make  use  of  this  sum  if  you 
will  favour  us  with  a  call,  accompanied  by  the  young 
lady,  but  we  are  not  in  a  position  to  afford  you  any 
information  whatever  as  to  our  client's  identity. 

"  Trusting  to  have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  you  shortly, 
"  We  are,  yours  truly, 

"  HAMILTON  &  PLACE." 

I  laid  the  letter  on  the  table  without  a  word. 
Mabane  and  Arthur  in  turn  read  it.  Then  there  was 
an  ominous  silence.  I  think  that  we  all  had  the  same 
thought.  It  was  Arthur,  however,  who  expressed  it. 

"  What  beastly  rot !  "  he  exclaimed. 

I  turned  to  Mabane. 

"  I  imagine,"  he  said,  "  that  we  should  not  be  jus- 
tified in  refusing  this  offer.  At  the  same  time,  if 
anyone  has  the  right  to  provide  for  the  child,  why 
do  they  not  come  forward  and  claim  her?" 

At  that  moment  Isobel  came  in.  I  took  up  the 
letter  and  placed  it  in  her  hand. 

"  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  we  want  you  to  read  this." 


90  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

She  read  it,  and  handed  it  back  to  me  without  a 
word.  We  were  all  watching  her  eagerly.  She 
looked  at  me  appealingly. 

"  Is  it  necessary,"  she  asked,  "  for  me  to  accept 
this  money  ?  " 

"  Tell  us,"  I  said,  "  exactly  how  you  feel." 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  "  that  if  there  is  anyone  from 
whom  I  have  the  right  to  accept  all  this  money,  I 
ought  to  know  who  they  are.  I  do  not  want  to  be  a 
burden  upon  anyone,"  she  added  hesitatingly,  "  but 
I  would  rather  work  every  moment  of  the  day  —  oh, 
I  think  that  I  would  rather  starve  than  touch  this 
money,  unless  I  know  who  it  is  that  offers  it." 

I  laughed  as  I  tore  the  letter  in  half. 

"  Dear  child,"  I  said,  resting  my  hand  upon  her 
shoulder,  "  that  is  what  we  all  hoped  that  you  would 
say!" 


(THE   MASTER   MUMMER  91 


CHAPTER   XII 

EJDY  DELAHAYE  sank  down  upon  the  couch 
against  which  I  had  been  standing. 

"Poor,  bored  man!"  she  exclaimed,  with  mock 
sympathy.  "  I  ought  to  have  asked  some  entertain- 
ing people,  ought  n't  I  ?  There  is  n't  a  soul  here  for 
you  to  talk  to!" 

"  On  the  contrary,"  I  answered,  "  there  are  a  good 
many  more  people  here  than  I  expected  to  see.  I 
understood  that  you  were  to  be  alone." 

"  And  you  probably  think  that  I  ought  to  be,"  she 
remarked.  "  Well,  I  never  was  conventional.  You 
know  that.  I  shut  myself  up  for  a  month.  Now  I 
expect  my  friends  to  come  and  console  me." 

"It  is  not  likely,"  I  said,  "that  you  will  be 
disappointed." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders. 

"  Perhaps  not.  Those  whom  I  do  not  want  will 
come,  of  course.  As  for  the  others  —  well !  " 

She  looked  up  at  me.    I  sat  down  by  her  side. 

"  Ah !  That  is  nice  of  you,"  she  said  softly.  "  I 
wanted  to  have  a  quiet  talk.  Tell  me  why  you  are 
looking  so  glum." 

"  I  was  not  conscious  of  it,"  I  answered.     "  To 
tell  you  the  truth,  I  was  wondering  whether  Isobel 
were  not  a  little  young  to  bring  to  a  gathering  of 
this  description." 
• 


92 

"  My  dear  Arnold,"  she  murmured,  "  there  are 
only  one  or  two  of  my  particular  friends  here.  The 
rest  dropped  in  by  accident.  Isobel  does  not  seem 
to  me  to  be  particularly  out  of  place,  and  she  is 
certainly  enjoying  herself." 

The  echoes  of  her  light  laugh  reached  us  just  then. 
Several  men  were  standing  over  her  chair.  She  was 
the  centre  of  what  seemed  to  be  a  very  amusing  con- 
versation. Arthur  was  standing  on  the  outskirts  of 
the  group,  apparently  a  little  dull. 

"  She  enjoys  herself  always,"  I  answered.  "  She 
is  of  that  disposition.  Still " 

She  put  her  hands  up  to  her  ears. 

"  Come,  I  won't  be  lectured,"  she  exclaimed. 
"  Seriously,  I  wanted  you  here.  I  had  something 
to  say  to  you  —  something  particular." 

"  Waiving  the  other  matter,  then,"  I  said,  "  I  am 
wholly  at  your  service." 

"  I  may  be  prolix,"  she  said  quietly.  "  Forgive 
me  if  I  am,  but  I  want  you  to  understand  me.  I  am 
beginning  to  see  that  I  have  adopted  a  wrong  posi- 
tion with  regard  to  a  certain  matter  which  we  have 
discussed  at  your  rooms  and  at  Argueil.  I  want  to 
reopen  the  subject  from  an  entirely  different  point 
of  view." 

"  You  mean,"  I  said,  "  the  subject  of  Isobel  ?  " 

"  Of  course !  The  first  time  I  came  to  see  you," 
Lady  Delahaye  said,  looking  up  at  me  with  penitence 
in  her  blue  eyes,  "  I  was  horrid.  I  am  very,  very 
sorry.  I  did  not  know  then  who  Isobel  was,  and  I 
was  angry  with  everyone  —  with  poor  Will,  with  the 
child  herself,  and  with  you.  You  must  forgive  me! 
I  was  very  much  upset." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  93 

"  I  will  never  think  of  it  again,"  I  promised  her. 

"  Then,  again,  at  Argueil,"  she  continued,  "  I 
adopted  a  wrong  tone  altogether.  Yours  was  the 
more  natural,  the  more  human  point  of  view.  There 
are  certain  very  grave  reasons  why  the  child  would 
be  very  much  better  out  of  the  world.  A  life  of 
seclusion  would,  I  believe,  in  the  end,  when  she  is 
able  to  understand,  be  the  happiest  for  her.  And 
yet  —  she  ought  to  have  her  chance !  " 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  admit  that,"  I  murmured. 

"  Now  I  am  going  to  ask  you  something,"  she 
went  on.  "  You  will  not  be  angry  with  me,  I  am 
sure.  Do  you  think  that  a  girl  of  Isobel's  age  and 
appearance  is  in  her  proper  place  in  bachelor  quar- 
ters, living  with  three  young  men?" 

"  I  do  not,"  I  admitted.  "  I  look  upon  it  as  a 
most  regrettable  necessity.  Still,  you  must  not  make 
it  sound  worse  than  it  is.  We  have  a  housekeeper 
who  is  the  very  essence  of  respectability,  and  Isobel 
is  under  her  care." 

"  I  want  to  make  it  no  longer  a  necessity,"  Lady 
Delahaye  said,  smiling.  "  I  want  to  relieve  you  and 
your  conscience  at  the  same  time  of  a  very  awkward 
incubus.  Listen !  This  is  what  I  propose.  Let  Isobel 
come  to  me  for  a  year !  I  shall  treat  her  as  my  own 
daughter.  She  will  have  plenty  of  amusement.  There 
are  the  theatres,  and  no  end  of  scratch  entertainments 
where  one  can  take  a  girl  of  her  age  who  is  too  young 
for  society.  She  will  mix  with  young  people  of  her 
own  age,  she  will  have  every  advantage  which,  to 
speak  frankly,  must  be  denied  to  her  in  her  present 
position.  At  the  end  of  that  year  I  shall  tell  her  her 
history.  It  is  a  sad  and  a  miserable  one.  You  may 


94  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

as  well  know  that  now.  She  can  then  take  her  choice 
of  the  convent,  or  any  other  mode  of  life  which  be- 
tween us  we  can  make  possible  for  her.  And  I  am 
very  much  inclined  to  believe,  Arnold,  that  she  will 
choose  the  convent." 

"Is  there  any  real  reason,  Lady  Delahaye?"  I 
asked,  "  why  you  should  not  tell  me  now  what  you 
propose  to  tell  Isobel  in  a  year's  time?  There  have 
been  so  many  mysterious  circumstances  in  connection 
with  this  affair  that  it  is  hard  to  come  to  any  decision 
when  one  is  ignorant  of  so  much." 

"  There  are  reasons  —  grave  reasons  —  why  I  can 
tell  you  nothing,"  she  answered.  "  Indeed,  I  would 
like  to,  Arnold,"  she  continued  earnestly,  "  but  my 
position  is  a  very  difficult  one.  I  think  that  you 
might  trust  me  a  little." 

"  I  am  sure  that  you  wish  to  do  what  is  best,"  I 
said,  a  little  awkwardly,  "  but  you  must  see  that  my 
position  also  is  a  little  difficult.  I,  too,  am  under  a 
promise ! " 

Her  eyes  flashed  indignantly. 

"  To  the  man  who  killed  my  husband !  The  man 
whom  you  are  shielding ! "  she  exclaimed  indig- 
nantly. "  I  think  that  you  might  at  least  have  the 
grace  to  leave  him  out  of  the  conversation." 

"  I  have  never  introduced  him,"  I  answered.  "  I 
do  not  wish  to  do  so.  As  to  shielding  him,  I  have 
not  the  slightest  idea  as  to  his  whereabouts.  Be 
reasonable,  Lady  Delahaye.  I " 

"  Reasonable,"  she  interrupted.  "  That  is  what  I 
want  you  to  be!  Ask  yourself  a  plain  question. 
Which  is  the  more  fitting  place  for  her  —  my  house, 
or  your  chambers?" 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  95 

She  pointed  to  Isobel,  who  was  leaning  back  in 
her  chair  laughing  heartily  into  the  face  of  a  young" 
man  who  was  bending  over  her.  By  chance  she 
looked  just  then  older  even  than  her  years,  and 
Arthur's  glum  figure,  too,  in  the  background  was 
suggestive. 

"  Your  house,  without  a  doubt,"  I  answered  gravely, 
"  if  it  is  the  house  of  a  friend." 

Her  satin  slipper  beat  the  ground  impatiently.  She 
looked  at  me  with  a  frown  upon  her  face. 

"  Do  you  believe,  then,"  she  asked,  "  that  I  am  her 
enemy?  Does  my  offer  sound  like  it?" 

"  Indeed,  no,"  I  answered,  rising.  "  I  am  going 
to  give  Isobel  herself  a  chance  of  accepting  or  declin- 
ing it." 

I  crossed  the  room.  Isobel,  seeing  me  come,  rose 
at  once. 

"  Is  it  time  for  us  to  go?  "  she  asked. 

"  Not  quite!  "  I  answered.  "  Go  and  ta .'*  to  Lady 
Delahaye  for  a  few  minutes.  She  has  son,,  thing  to 
say  to  you." 

Isobel  made  a  little  grimace,  so  slight  that  only  I 
could  notice  it,  and  took  my  place  upon  the  sofa. 
I  talked  for  a  few  minutes  with  some  of  the  men 
whom  I  knew,  and  then  Arthur  touched  me  on  the 
arm. 

"  Can't  we  go,  Arnold  ? "  he  exclaimed,  a  little 
peevishly.  "  I  've  never  been  so  bored  in  all  my 
life." 

"  We  must  wait  for  a  few  minutes,"  I  answered. 
"  Isobel  is  talking  to  Lady  Delahaye." 

"  I  don't  know  a  soul  here,  and  I  'm  dying  for  a 
cigarette." 


g6  THE  MASTER   MUMMER 

I  pointed  through  the  curtain  to  the  anteroom 
adjoining. 

"  You  can  smoke  in  there,"  I  remarked.  "  I  '11 
introduce  you  to  Miss  Ernston  if  you  like,  the  girl 
who  drives  the  big  Panhard  in  the  park.  I  heard 
her  say  that  she  was  going  in  there  to  get  one  of 
Lady  Delahaye's  Russian  cigarettes !  " 

Arthur  shook  his  head.  He  was  covertly  watching 
Isobel,  sitting  on  the  sofa. 

"  I  '11  go  in  and  have  the  cigarette,"  he  said,  "  but, 
Arnold,  there 's  no  fresh  move  on,  is  there?  You  're 
looking  pretty  glum !  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  No,  there  is  nothing  exactly  fresh,"  I  answered. 
"  Come  along  and  smoke,  will  you !  I  want  Lady 
[Delahaye  and  Isobel  to  have  their  talk  out." 

He  followed  me  reluctantly  into  the  smaller  of 
Lady  Delahaye's  reception-rooms,  where  we  smoked 
for  a  few  minutes  in  silence.  Then  Mabel  Ernston 
stopped  to  speak  to  me  for  a  moment,  and  I  intro- 
duced Arthur.  I  left  them  talking  motors,  and  stepped 
back  into  the  other  room.  Isobel  had  already  risen 
to  her  feet,  and  Lady  Delahaye  was  looking  at  her 
curiously  as  though  uncertain  how  far  she  had  been 
successful.  She  saw  me  enter,  and  beckoned  me  to 
approach. 

"  I  think  that  Isobel  is  tired,"  she  said,  in  a  tone 
which  was  meant  to  be  kind.  "  She  has  promised 
to  come  and  see  me  again." 

Isobel  looked  at  me.  Her  mouth,  which  a  few 
minutes  before  had  been  curved  with  smiles,  was 
straight  now,  and  resolutely  set.  She  was  distinctly 
paler,  and  her  manner  seemed  to  have  acquired  a 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  97 

new  gravity.  I  must  confess  that  my  first  impulse 
was  one  of  relief.  Isobel  had  not  found  Lady  Dela- 
haye's  offer,  then,  so  wonderfully  attractive. 

"Do  you  mind  coming  home  now,  Arnold?"  she 
asked.  "  I  did  not  know  that  it  was  so  late." 

I  saw  Lady  Delahaye's  face  darken  at  her  simple 
use  of  my  Christian  name,  and  the  touch  of  her 
fingers  upon  my  arm.  Arthur  heard  our  voices,  and 
came  to  us  at  once.  So  we  took  leave  of  our  hostess, 
and  turned  homewards. 

For  a  long  time  we  walked  almost  in  silence.  Then 
Isobel  turned  towards  me  with  a  new  gravity  in  her 
face,  and  an  unusual  hesitation  in  her  tone. 

"  Arnold,"  she  said,  "  Lady  Delahaye  has  been 
pointing  out  to  me  one  or  two  things  which  I  had 
not  thought  of  before.  I  suppose  she  meant  to  be 
kind.  I  suppose  it  is  right  that  I  should  know. 

But "  her  voice  trembled  —  "I  wish  she  had 

not  told  me." 

"  Lady  Delahaye  is  an  interfering  old  cat !  "  Arthur 
exclaimed  viciously.  "  Don't  take  any  notice  of  her, 
Isobel." 

"  But  I  must  know,"  she  answered,  "  whether  the 
things  which  she  said  were  true." 

"  They  were  probably  exaggerations,"  I  said  cheer- 
fully ;  "  but  let  us  hear  them,  at  any  rate." 

"  She  said,"  Isobel  continued,  looking  steadily  in 
front  of  her,  "  that  you  were  all  three  very  poor 
indeed,  and  that  I  had  no  right  to  come  and  live 
with  you,  and  make  you  poorer  still,  when  I  had  a 
home  offered  me  elsewhere.  She  said  that  I  should 
disturb  your  whole  life,  that  you  would  have  to  give 
up  many  things  which  were  a  pleasure  to  you,  and 

7 


98  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

you  would  not  be  able  to  succeed  so  well  with  your 
work,  as  you  would  have  to  write  altogether  for 
money.  And  she  said  that  I  should  be  grown  up 
soon,  and  ought  to  live  where  there  are  women;  and 
when  I  told  her  about  Mrs.  Burdett  she  laughed 
unpleasantly,  and  said  that  she  did  not  count  at  all. 
And  that  is  why  —  she  wants  me  —  to  go  there !  " 

Again  the  shadow  of  tragedy  gleamed  in  the  child's 
white  face.  Her  face  was  strained,  her  eyes  had  lost 
the  deep  softness  of  their  colouring,  and  there  lurked 
once  more  in  their  depths  the  terror  of  nameless 
things.  To  me  the  sight  of  her  like  this  was  so  pite- 
ous that  I  wasted  not  a  moment  in  endeavouring  to 
reassure  her. 

"  Rubbish !  "  I  exclaimed  cheerfully.  "  Sheer  and 
unadulterated  rubbish!  We  are  not  rich,  Isobel,  but 
the  trifle  the  care  of  you  will  cost  us  amounts  to 
nothing  at  all.  We  are  willing  and  able  to  take 
charge  of  you  as  well  as  we  can.  You  know  that ! " 

Ah!  She  drew  a  long  sigh  of  relief.  It  was 
wonderful  how  her  face  changed. 

"  But  why  is  Lady  Delahaye  so  cruel  —  why  is, 
she  so  anxious  that  I  should  not  stay  with  you  ?  "  she 
said. 

I  laughed. 

"  Lady  Delahaye  is  mysterious,"  I  answered.  "  I 
have  come  to  the  conclusion,  Isobel,  that  you  must 
be  a  princess  in  disguise,  and  that  Lady  Delahaye 
wants  to  claim  all  the  rewards  for  having  taken 
charge  of  you !  " 

"  Don't  be  silly !  "  she  laughed.  "  Princesses  are 
not  brought  up  at  Madame  Richard's,  without  rela- 
tions or  friends  to  visit  them,  and  no  pocket  money." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  99 

"  Nevertheless,"  I  answered,  "  when  I  consider  the 
number  of  people  who  are  interested  in  you,  and 
Lady  Delahaye's  extraordinary  persistence,  I  am  in- 
clined to  stick  to  my  theory.  We  shall  look  upon 
you,  Isobel,  as  an  investment,  and  some  day  you  shall 
reward  us  all." 

Her  hand  slipped  into  mine.  Her  eyes  were  soft 
enough  now. 

"  Dear  friend,"  she  murmured,  "  I  think  that  it  is 
my  heart  only  which  will  reward  you  —  my  great, 
great  gratitude.  I  am  afraid  of  Lady  Delahaye, 
Arnold.  There  are  things  in  her  eyes  when  she 
looks  at  me  which  make  me  shiver.  Do  not  let  us 
go  there  again,  please !  " 

Arthur  broke  in  impetuously. 

"  You  shall  go  nowhere  you  don't  want  to,  Isobel. 
Arnold  and  I  will  see  to  that." 

"  And  —  about  the  other  thing  —  she  mentioned," 
Isobel  began. 

"  She  was  right  and  wrong,"  I  answered.  "  Of 
course,  it  would  be  better  for  you  if  one  of  us  had 
a  sister  or  a  mother  living  with  us,  but  Mrs.  Burdett 
has  always  seemed  to  us  like  a  mother,  and  I  think  — 
that  it  will  be  all  right,"  I  concluded  a  little  lamely. 
"  We  need  not  worry  about  that,  at  present  at  any 
rate.  Come,  we  've  had  a  dull  afternoon,  and  I  sold 
a  story  yesterday.  Let 's  go  to  Fasolas,  and  have  a 
half-crown  dinner." 

"  I  'm  on,"  Arthur  declared.  "  We  '11  go  and  fetch 
Allan." 

"  You  dear! "  Isobel  exclaimed.  "  I  shall  wear  my 
new  hat!" 


Book  II 


CHAPTER   I 

a  T   HAVE  no  doubt,"  Mabane  said  gloomily,  "  that 

X  Arthur  is  right.  He  ought  to  know  more  about 
it  than  old  fogies  like  you  and  me,  Arnold.  We  had 
the  money,  and  we  ought  to  have  insisted  upon  it. 
iYou  gave  way  far  too  easily." 

"  That 's  all  very  well,"  I  protested,  "  but  I  don't 
take  in  a  woman's  fashion  paper,  and  Isobel  assured 
us  that  the  hat  was  all  right.  She  looks  well  enough 
in  it,  surely !  " 

"  Isobel  looks  ripping !  "  Arthur  declared,  "  but 
then,  she  looks  ripping  in  anything.  All  the  same, 
the  hat 's  old-fashioned.  You  look  at  the  hats  those 
girls  are  wearing,  who  've  just  come  in  —  flat,  bunchy 
things,  with  flowers  under  the  brim.  That 's  the  style 
just  now." 

"  Isobel  shall  have  one,  then,"  I  declared.  "  We 
will  take  her  West  to-morrow.  We  can  afford  it  very 
well." 

She  came  up  to  us  beaming.  She  was  a  year  older, 
and  her  skirts  were  a  foot  longer.  Her  figure  was, 
perhaps,  a  shade  more  developed,  and  her  manner 
a  little  more  assured.  In  other  respects  she  was 
unchanged. 

"What  are  you  two  old  dears  worrying  about?" 
she  exclaimed  lightly.  "  You  have  the  air  of  con- 
spirators. No  secrets  from  me,  please.  What  is  it 
all  about?" 


104  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  We  are  lamenting  the  antiquity  of  your  hat,'* 
Mabane  answered  gravely.  "  Arthur  assures  us  that 
it  is  out  of  date.  It  ought  to  be  flat  and  bunchy,  and 
it  is  n't!" 

"  Geese !  "  she  exclaimed  lightly,  "  both  of  you  f 
Arthur,  I  'm  ashamed  of  you.  You  may  know  some- 
thing about  motors,  but  you  are  very  ignorant  indeed 
about  hats.  Come  along,  all  of  you,  and  gaze  at 
my  miniatures.  I  am  longing  to  see  how  they  look 
framed." 

"  As  regards  the  hat "  I  began. 

"  I  will  not  hear  anything  more  about  it,"  she 
interrupted,  laughing.  "  Of  course,  if  you  don't  like 
to  be  seen  with  me  —  oh!  Why,  look!  look!" 

We  had  stopped  before  a  case  of  miniatures.  In 
the  front  row  were  two  somewhat  larger  than  the 
others,  and  Isobel's  first  serious  attempts.  Behind 
each  was  stuck  a  little  ivory  board  bearing  the  magic 
word  "  Sold." 

"  Sold !  "  Arthur  exclaimed  incredulously. 

"  It  may  be  a  mistake,"  I  said  slowly. 

Mabane  and  I  exchanged  glances.  We  knew  very 
well  that,  though  the  miniatures  showed  promise  of 
talent,  they  were  amateurish  and  imperfect,  and  the 
reserve  which  we  had  placed  upon  them  was  quite 
out  of  all  proportion  to  their  merit.  It  must  surely 
be  a  mistake!  We  followed  Isobel  across  the  room. 
A  little  elderly  gentleman  was  sitting  before  a  desk, 
engaged  in  the  leisurely  contemplation  of  a  small 
open  ledger.  Isobel  had  halted  in  front  of  him. 
There  was  a  delicate  flush  of  pink  on  her  cheeks,  and 
her  eyes  were  brilliant. 

"  Are  my  miniatures  sold,  please  ?  "  she  exclaimed. 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  105 

"  My  name  is  Miss  de  Sorrens.  They  have  a 
small  ivory  board  just  behind  them  which  says 
'  Sold.'  " 

The  elderly  gentleman  looked  up,  and  surveyed 
her  calmly  over  the  top  of  his  spectacles. 

"  What  did  you  say  that  your  name  was,  madam, 
and  the  number  of  your  miniatures  ?  "  he  enquired. 

"  Miss  Isobel  de  Sorrens,"  she  answered  breath- 
lessly., "  and  my  miniatures  are  number  two  hundred 
and  seven  and  eight  —  a  portrait  of  an  elderly  lady, 
and  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  —  a  child." 

The  little  old  gentleman  turned  over  the  pages 
of  his  ledger  in  very  leisurely  fashion,  and  consulted 
a  recent  entry. 

"  Your  miniatures  are  sold,  Miss  de  Sorrens,"  he 
said,  "  for  the  reserve  price  placed  upon  them  — 
twenty  guineas  each.  The  money  will  be  paid  to 
you  on  the  close  of  the  Exhibition,  according  to  our 
usual  custom." 

"  Please  tell  me  who  bought  them,"  she  begged. 
"  I  want  to  be  quite  sure  that  there  is  no  mis- 
take." 

"  There  is  certainly  no  mistake,"  he  answered, 
smiling.  "  The  first  one  was  bought  by  —  let  me 
see  —  a  nobleman  in  the  suite  of  the  Archduchess 
of  Bristlaw,  the  Baron  von  Leibingen.  I  believe  that 
her  Highness  is  proposing  to  visit  the  Exhibition 
this  afternoon.  The  other  purchaser  paid  cash,  but 
refused  his  name.  Ah !  Excuse  me !  " 

He  rose  hastily,  and  moved  towards  the  door. 
A  little  group  of  people  were  entering,  before  whom 
the  bystanders  gave  way  with  all  that  respect  which 
the  British  public  invariably  displays  for  Royalty. 


*o6  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Isobel  watched  them  with  frank  and  eager  interest. 
Mabane  and  I  moved  over  to  her  side. 

"  Is  it  true  ?  "  I  asked  her. 

"  He  says  so,"  she  answered,  still  a  little  bewil- 
dered. "Arnold,  can  you  imagine  it?  Forty  guineas ! 
I  — I " 

There  followed  an  amazing  interlude.  The  little 
party  of  newcomers,  before  whom  everyone  was 
obsequiously  giving  way,  came  face  to  face  with  us. 
Mabane  and  I  stepped  back  at  once,  but  Isobel  re- 
mained motionless.  An  extraordinary  change  had 
come  over  her.  Her  eyes  seemed  fastened  upon  the 
woman  who  was  the  central  figure  of  the  little  pro- 
cession, and  the  girl  who  walked  by  her  side.  Some- 
one whispered  to  her  to  move  back.  She  took  no 
notice.  She  seemed  as  though  she  had  not  heard. 
Royalty  raised  its  lorgnettes,  and  dropped  them  with  a 
crash  upon  the  polished  wood  floor.  Then  those  who 
were  quick  to  understand  knew  that  something  lay 
beneath  this  unusual  awkwardness. 

The  manager  of  the  Gallery,  who,  catalogue  in 
hand,  had  been  prepared  personally  to  conduct  the 
Royal  party  round,  looked  about  him,  wondering  as 
to  the  cause  of  the  contretemps.  His  eyes  fell  upon 
Isobel. 

"  Please  step  back,"  he  whispered  to  her,  angrily. 
"  Don't  you  see  that  the  Princess  is  here,  and  the 
Archduchess  of  Bristlaw  ?  Clear  the  way,  please !  " 

The  manager  was  a  small  man,  and  Isobel' s  eyes 
travelled  over  his  head.  She  did  not  seem  to  hear 
him  speak.  The  Archduchess  recovered  herself.  She 
took  the  shattered  lorgnettes  from  the  hand  of  her 
lady-in-waiting.  She  pointed  to  Isobel. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  107 

"  Who  is  this  young  person  ?  "  she  asked  calmly. 
"  Does  she  wish  to  speak  to  me  ?  " 

A  wave  of  colour  swept  into  Isobel's  cheeks.  She 
drew  back  at  once. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon,  Madame,"  she  said.  But 
even  when  she  had  rejoined  my  side  her  eyes  re- 
mained fixed  upon  the  face  of  the  Archduchess  and 
her  companion. 

There  was  a  general  movement  forward.  One  of 
the  ladies  in  the  suite,  however,  lingered  behind. 
Our  eyes  met,  and  Lady  Delahaye  held  out  her 
hand. 

"  Your  ward  is  growing,"  she  murmured,  "  in 
inches,  if  not  in  manners.  When  are  you  going  to 
engage  a  chaperon  for  her?" 

"  When  I  think  it  necessary,  Lady  Delahaye,"  I 
answered,  with  a  bow. 

"  You  artists  have  —  such  strange  ideas,"  she  re- 
marked, smiling  up  at  me.  "  You  wish  Isobel  to 
remain  a  child  of  nature,  perhaps.  Yet  you  must 
admit  that  a  few  lessons  in  deportment  would  be  of 
advantage." 

"  To  the  Archduchess,  apparently,"  I  answered. 
"  One  does  not  often  see  a  great  lady  so  em- 
barrassed." 

Lady  Delahaye  shrugged  her  shoulders.  She 
dropped  her  voice  a  little. 

"  Are  we  never  to  meet  without  quarrelling, 
Arnold?"  she  whispered,  looking  up  into  my  eyes. 
"  It  used  not  to  be  like  this." 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said,  "  it  is  not  my  fault 
We  seem  to  have  taken  opposite  sides  in  a  game 
which  I  for  one  do  not  understand.  Twice  during 


:io8  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

the  last  six  months  you  have  made  attempts  which 
can  scarcely  be  called  honourable  to  take  Isobel  from 
us.  Our  rooms  are  continually  watched.  We  dare 
not  let  the  child  go  out  alone.  Now  this  woman 
from  Madame  Richard's  has  come  to  live  in  the 
same  building.  She,  too,  watches." 

"  It  is  only  the  beginning,  Arnold,"  she  said 
quietly.  "  I  told  you  more  than  a  year  ago  that 
you  were  interfering  in  graver  concerns  than  you 
imagined.  Why  don't  you  be  wise,  and  let  the  child 
go?  The  care  of  her  will  bring  nothing  but  trouble 
upon  you ! " 

Her  words  struck  home  more  surely  than  she  im- 
agined, for  in  my  heart  had  lain  dormant  for  months 
the  fear  of  what  was  to  come,  the  shadow  which  was 
already  creeping  over  our  lives.  Nevertheless,  I  an- 
swered her  lightly. 

"  You  know  my  obstinacy  of  old,  Lady  Delahaye/' 
I  said.  "  We  are  wasting  words,  I  think." 

She  shrugged  her  shoulders  and  passed  on.  Ma- 
bane  touched  me  on  the  shoulder. 

"  Isobel  would  like  to  go,"  he  said.  "  Arthur  and 
she  are  at  the  door  already." 

I  turned  to  leave  the  place.  We  were  already  in 
the  passage  which  led  into  Bond  Street,  when  I  felt 
myself  touched  upon  the  shoulder.  A  tall,  fair  young 
man,  with  his  hair  brushed  back,  and  very  blue  eyes, 
who  had  been  in  the  suite  of  the  Archduchess,  ad- 
dressed me. 

"  Pardon  me,"  he  said,  "  but  you  are  Mr.  Arnold 
jGreatson,  I  believe?" 

I  acknowledged  the  fact. 

""The  Archduchess  of  Bristlaw  begs  that  you  will 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  109 

spare  her  a  moment.  She  will  not  detain  you 
longer." 

I  turned  to  Mabane. 

"Take  Isobel  home,"  I  said.  "I  will  follow 
presently." 

We  re-entered  the  Gallery.  The  majority  of  the 
Royal  party  were  busy  examining  the  miniatures. 
The  Archduchess  was  talking  earnestly  to  Lady 
Delahaye  in  a  remote  corner.  My  guide  led  me 
directly  to  her. 

"  Her  Highness  permits  me  to  present  you,"  he 
said  to  me.  "  This  is  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson,  your 
Highness." 

The  Archduchess  acknowledged  my  bow  gra- 
ciously. 

"  You  are  the  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson  who  writes 
such  charming  stories,"  she  said.  "  Yes,  it  is  so,  is 
it  not?" 

"  Your  Highness  is  very  kind,"  I  answered. 

"  I  learn,"  she  continued,  "  that  you  are  also  the 
guardian  of  the  young  lady  who  gave  us  all  such  a 
start.  Pardon  me,  but  you  surely  seem  a  little  young 
for  such  a  post." 

"  The  circumstances,  your  Highness,"  I  answered, 
"  were  a  little  exceptional." 

She  nodded  thoughtfully. 

"  Yes,  yes,  so  I  have  heard.  Lady  Delahaye  has 
been  telling  me  the  story.  I  understand  that  you 
have  never  been  able  to  discover  the  child's  parent- 
age. That  is  very  strange ! " 

"  There  are  other  things  in  connection  with  my 
ward,  your  Highness,"  I  said,  "which  seem  to  me 
equally  inexplicable." 


no  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Yes  ?  I  am  very  interested.  Will  you  tell  me 
what  they  are?  " 

"  By  all  means,"  I  answered.  "  I  refer  to  the  fact 
that  though  no  one  has  come  forward  openly  to  claim 
the  child,  indirect  efforts  to  induce  her  to  leave  us 
are  continually  being  made  by  persons  who  seem  to 
desire  anonymity.  Whenever  she  has  been  alone  in 
the  streets  she  has  been  accosted  under  various 
pretexts." 

The  Archduchess  was  politely  surprised. 

"But  surely  you  are  aware,"  she  remarked,  "of 
the  source  of  some  at  least  of  these  attempts  ?  " 

"  Madame  Richard,"  I  said,  "  the  principal  of  the 
convent  where  Isobel  was  educated,  seems  particu- 
larly anxious  to  have  her  return  there." 

The  Archduchess  nodded  her  head  slowly. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  is  that  so  much  to  be  wondered 
at?  Even  we  who  are  of  the  world  might  consider 
—  you  must  pardon  me,  Mr.  Greatson,  if  I  speak 
frankly  —  the  girl's  present  position  an  undesirable 
one.  How  do  you  suppose,  then,  that  the  principal 
of  a  convent  boarding-school,  whose  sister,  I  be- 
lieve, is  a  nun,  would  be  likely  to  regard  the  same 
thing?" 

"Your  Highness  knows,  then,  of  the  convent?" 
I  remarked. 

The  Archduchess  lifted  her  eyebrows  lightly.  Her 
gesture  seemed  intended  to  convey  to  me  the  fact 
that  she  had  not  sent  for  me  to  answer  my  questions. 
I  remained  unabashed,  however,  and  waited  for  her 
reply.  Several  curious  facts  were  beginning  to  group 
themselves  together  in  my  mind. 

"  I  have  heard  of  the  place,"  she  said  coldly.    "  I 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  in 

believe  it  to  be  an  excellent  institution.  I  sent  for 
you,  Mr.  Greatson,  not,  however,  to  discuss  such 
matters,  but  solely  to  ask  for  information  as  to  the 
child's  parentage.  It  seems  that  you  are  unable  to 
give  me  this." 

"  Lady  Delahaye  knows  as  much  —  probably  more 
—  than  I,"  I  answered. 

It  seemed  to  me  that  the  Archduchess  and  Lady 
Delahaye  exchanged  quick  glances.  I  affected,  how- 
ever, to  have  noticed  nothing. 

"  I  will  be  quite  candid  with  you,  Mr.  Greatson,'* 
the  Archduchess  continued.  "  My  interest  in  the  girl 
arises,  of  course,  from  the  wonderful  likeness  to  my 
own  daughter,  and  to  other  members  of  my  family. 
Your  ward  herself  was  obviously  struck  with  it.  I 
must  confess  that  I,  too,  received  something  of  a 
shock." 

"  I  think,"  I  answered,  "  that  it  was  apparent  to 
all  of  us." 

The  Archduchess  coughed.  For  a  Royal  person- 
age, she  seemed  to  find  some  little  difficulty  in 
proceeding. 

"  The  history  of  our  family  is  naturally  a  matter 
of  common  knowledge,"  she  said  slowly.  "  Any 
connection  with  it,  therefore,  which  this  child  might 
be  able  to  claim  would  be  of  that  order  which  you, 
as  a  man  of  the  world,  would  doubtless  understand. 
Nevertheless,  I  am  sufficiently  interested  in  her  to 
be  inclined  to  take  any  steps  which  might  be  neces- 
sary for  her  welfare.  I  propose  to  set  some  enquiries 
on  foot.  Providing  that  the  result  of  them  be  as  I 
suspect,  I  presume  you  would  have  no  objection  to 
relinquish  the  child  to  my  protection  ?  " 


H2  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Your  Highness,"  I  answered,  "  I  could  not  an- 
swer such  a  question  as  that  without  consideration, 
or  without  consulting  Isobel  herself." 

The  Archduchess  frowned  upon  me,  and  I  was  at 
once  made  conscious  that  I  had  fallen  under  her  dis- 
pleasure. I  fancy,  however,  that  I  appeared  as  I  felt, 
quite  unimpressed. 

"  I  cannot  understand  any  hesitation  whatsoever 
upon  your  part,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said.  "  Under 
my  care  the  child's  future  would  be  fittingly  provided 
for.  Her  position  with  you  must  be,  at  the  best,  an. 
equivocal  one." 

"  Your  Highness,"  I  answered  steadily,  "  my 
friends  and  I  are  handicapped  perhaps  by  our  sex, 
but  we  have  a  housekeeper  who  is  an  old  family 
servant,  and  a  model  of  respectability.  In  all  ways 
and  at  all  times  we  have  treated  Isobel  as  a  very 
dear  sister.  The  position  may  seem  an  equivocal  one 
—  to  a  certain  order  of  minds.  Those  who  know  us, 
I  may  venture  to  say,  see  nothing  harmful  to  the 
child  in  our  guardianship." 

The  Archduchess  stared  at  me,  and  I  gathered  that 
she  was  not  used  to  anything  save  implicit  obedience 
from  those  to  whom  she  made  suggestions.  She 
stared,  and  then  she  laughed  softly.  There  was  more 
than  a  spice  of  malice  in  her  mirth. 

"  Which  of  you  three  young  men  are  going  to  fall 
in  love  with  her?"  she  asked  bluntly.  "You  call 
her  a  child,  but  she  is  almost  a  woman,  and  she  is 
beautiful.  She  will  be  very  beautiful." 

"  Your  Highness,"  I  answered  coldly,  "  it  is  a 
matter  which  we  have  not  as  yet  permitted  ourselves 
to  consider." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  113 

The  Archduchess  was  displeased  with  me,  and  she 
took  no  further  pains  to  hide  her  displeasure. 

"Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  with  a  little  wave  of 
dismissal,  "  for  the  present  I  have  no  more  to  say." 

She  turned  her  back  upon  me,  and  I  at  once  left 
the  Gallery. 


II4  THE   MASTER  MUMMER 


CHAPTER   II 

I  WALKED  home  with  but  one  thought  in  my 
mind.  The  Archduchess  had  put  into  words 
—  very  plain,  blunt  words  —  what  as  yet  I  had 
scarcely  dared  harbour  in  my  mind  as  a  fugitive  idea. 
She  had  done  me  in  that  respect  good  service.  She 
had  brought  to  a  sudden  crisis  an  issue  which  it  was 
folly  any  longer  to  evade.  I  meant  to  speak  now, 
and  have  done  with  it.  I  walked  through  the  busy 
streets  a  dreaming  man.  It  was  for  the  last  time. 
Henceforth,  even  the  dream  must  pass. 

I  found  Mabane  and  Arthur  alone,  for  which  I  was 
sufficiently  thankful.  There  was  no  longer  any 
•excuse  for  delay.  Mabane  had  taken  possession  of 
the  easy-chair,  and  was  smoking  his  largest  pipe. 
Arthur  was  walking  restlessly  up  and  down  the  room. 
Evidently  they  had  been  discussing  between  them  the 
events  of  the  afternoon,  for  there  was  a  sudden  silence 
when  I  entered,  and  they  both  waited  eagerly  for  me 
to  speak.  I  closed  the  door  carefully  behind  me,  and 
took  a  cigarette  from  the  box  on  my  desk. 

"  What  did  the  Archduchess  want?  "  Arthur  asked 
bluntly. 

"  I  will  tell  you  all  that  she  said  presently,"  I 
answered.  "  In  effect,  it  was  the  same  as  the  others. 
She,  too,  wanted  Isobel !  " 

"Shall  we  have  to  give  her  up?"  Arthur  demanded. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  115 

"  We  will  discuss  that  another  time,"  I  said.  "  I 
am  glad  to  find  that  you  are  both  here.  There  is 
another  matter,  concerning  which  I  think  that  we 
ought  to  come  to  an  understanding  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. It  has  been  in  my  mind  for  a  long  while." 

"  About  Isobel  ?  "  Arthur  interrupted. 

"  About  Isobel !  "  I  assented. 

They  were  both  attentive.  Mabane's  expression 
was  purely  negative.  Arthur,  on  the  other  hand, 
was  distinctly  nervous.  I  think  that  from  the  first  he 
had  some  idea  what  it  was  that  I  wanted  to  say. 

"  Isobel,  when  she  came  to  us  little  more  than  a 
year  ago,"  I  continued,  "  was  a  child.  We  have 
always  treated  her,  and  I  believe  thought  of  her,  as 
a  child.  It  was  perhaps  a  daring  experiment  to  have 
brought  her  here  at  all,  and  yet  I  am  inclined  to 
think  that,  under  the  circumstances,  it  was  the  best 
thing  for  her,  and,  from  another  point  of  view,  an 
excellent  thing  for  us !  " 

"  Excellent !  Why,  it  has  made  all  the  difference 
in  the  world,"  Arthur  declared  vigorously. 

"  I  see  that  you  follow  me,"  I  agreed.  "  Her 
coming  seems  to  have  steadied  us  up  all  round.  The 
changes  which  we  were  obliged  to  make  in  our 
manner  of  living  have  all  been  for  the  better.  I  am 
afraid  that  we  were  drifting,  Allan  and  I,  at  any  rate 
into  a  somewhat  objectless  sort  of  existence,  and  our 
work  was  beginning  to  show  the  signs  of  it.  The 
coming  of  Isobel  seems  to  have  changed  all  that. 
You,  Allan,  know  that  you  have  never  done  better 
work  in  your  life  than  during  the  last  year.  Your 
portrait  of  her  was  an  inspiration.  Some  of  those 
smaller  studies  show  signs  of  a  talent  which  I  think 


n6  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

has  surprised  everyone,  except  Arthur  and  myself, 
who  knew  what  you  could  do  when  you  settled  down 
to  it.  I,  too,  have  been  more  successful,  as  you  know. 
I  have  done  better  work,  and  more  of  it.  You  agree 
with  me  so  far,  Allan  ?  " 

"  There  is  no  doubt  at  all  about  it,"  Mabane  said 
slowly.  "  There  has  been  a  different  atmosphere 
about  the  place  since  the  child  came,  and  we  have 
thrived  in  it.  We  are  all  better,  much  the  better,  for 
her  coming ! " 

"  I  am  glad  that  you  appreciate  this,  Allan,"  I  said. 
"  This  sort  of  thing  is  rather  hard  to  put  into  words, 
but  I  believe  that  you  fellows  understand  exactly 
what  I  mean.  We  have  had  to  amuse  her,  and  in 
doing  so  we  have  developed  simpler  and  better  tastes 
for  ourselves.  We  've  had  to  give  up  a  lot  of  things, 
and  a  lot  of  friends  we  've  been  much  better  without." 

"  It 's  true,  every  word  of  it,  Arnold,"  Mabane 
admitted,  knocking  out  the  ashes  from  his  pipe. 
"  We  've  chucked  the  music-halls  for  the  theatres, 
and  our  lazy  slacking  Sundays,  with  a  night  at  the 
club  afterwards,  for  long  wholesome  days  in  the 
country  —  very  jolly  days,  too.  We  're  better  men 
in  our  small  way  for  the  child's  coming,  Arnold. 
You  can  take  that  for  granted.  Now,  go  on  with 
what  you  have  to  say.  I  suppose  this  is  all  a  prelude 
to  something  or  other." 

Even  then  I  hesitated,  for  my  task  was  not  an  easy 
one,  and  all  the  while  Arthur,  who  maintained  an 
uneasy  silence,  was  'watching  me  furtively.  It  was 
as  though  he  knew  from  the  first  what  it  was  that 
I  was  leading  up  to,  and  I  seemed  to  be  conscious 
already  of  his  passionate  though  unspoken  resistance. 


"  It  was  a  child,"  I  said  at  last,  "  whom  we  took 
into  our  lives.  To-day  she  is  a  woman !  " 

Then  Arthur  could  keep  silence  no  longer.  There 
was  a  pink  flush  in  his  cheeks,  which  were  still  as 
smooth  as  a  girl's,  but  the  passion  in  his  tone  was 
the  passion  of  a  man. 

"  You  are  not  thinking,  Arnold  —  you  would  not 
be  so  mad  as  to  think  of  giving  her  up  to  any  of 
these  people  ?  "  he  exclaimed.  "  They  are  her  ene- 
mies, all  of  them.  I  am  sure  of  it ! " 

"  I  am  coming  to  that  presently,"  I  went  on. 
"  You  know  what  happened  this  afternoon  ?  You 
saw  the  likeness,  the  amazing  likeness,  between  Isobel 
and  that  other  girl,  the  daughter  of  the  Archduchess. 
The  Archduchess  was  herself  very  much  impressed 
with  it.  Without  a  doubt  she  knows  Isobel's  history. 
She  went  so  far  as  to  tell  me  that  she  believed  Isobel 
to  be  morganatically  connected  with  her  own  family, 
the  House  of  Waldenburg!  She  offered  to  take  her 
under  her  own  protection !  " 

"  You  did  not  consent !  "  Arthur  exclaimed. 

"  I  neither  consented  nor  absolutely  refused,"  I 
answered.  "  It  was  not  a  matter  to  be  decided  on 
the  spur  of  the  moment.  But  the  more  I  think  of 
it,  the  more  I  am  puzzled.  Madame  Richard  wants 
Isobel.  She  was  not  satisfied  with  our  refusal  to 
give  her  up.  She  sent  that  messenger  of  hers  back 
with  fresh  offers,  and  when  again  we  refused,  the 
woman  takes  up  her  quarters  here,  always  spying 
upon  us,  always  accosting  Isobel  on  any  excuse. 
Madame  Richard  may  be  a  very  good  woman,  but 
I  have  seen  and  spoken  with  her,  and  I  do  not  for 
one  moment  believe  that  her  extraordinary  persist- 


Ii8  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

ence  is  for  Isobel's  sake  alone.  Then  Lady  Delahaye 
has  never  ceased  from  worrying  us.  She  has  tried 
threats,  persuasions  and  entreaties.  She  has  tried  by 
every  means  in  her  power  to  induce  us  to  give  up 
the  child  to  her.  And  now  we  have  the  Archduchess 
to  deal  with,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  we  are  getting 
very  near  the  heart  of  the  matter.  The  Archduchess 
is  a  daughter  of  one  of  the  Royal  Houses  of  Europe, 
and  Major  Delahaye  was  once  attache  at  her  father's 
Court.  Then  there  is  Grooten,  the  man  who  shot 
Delahaye.  His  interest  in  her  is  so  strong  that  he 
risks  his  life  and  commits  a  crime  to  save  her  from 
a  man  whom  he  believes  to  be  a  source  of  danger  to 
her.  He  sends  her  money  every  quarter,  which,  as 
you  know,  we  have  never  touched  —  it  stands  in  her 
name  if  ever  she  should  require  it.  Grooten  is  a  man 
into  whose  charge  we  could  not  possibly  give  her, 
and  yet  of  all  these  people  he  is  the  only  one  whom 
I  would  trust  —  the  only  one  whom  I  feel  instinc- 
tively means  well  by  her.  Madame  Richard  wants 
her,  Lady  Delahaye  wants  her,  and  behind  them  both 
there  is  the  Archduchess,  who  also  wants  her.  I  have 
thought  this  matter  over,  and, -so  far  as  I  am  con- 
cerned, I  have  decided " 

"  Not  to  give  her  up  to  any  of  them ! "  Arthur 
exclaimed  sharply. 

"  To  give  her  up  to  no  one  who  is  not  prepared 
to  go  into  court  and  establish  -  ,egal  claim,"  I  con- 
tinued. "  It  is  very  simple,  and  I  think  very  reason- 
able. When  she  leaves  us,  it  shall  be  to  take  up  an 
accredited  and  definite  station  in  life.  The  time  may 
come  at  any  moment.  We  must  always  be  prepared 
for  it.  But  until  it  does,  we  will  not  even  parley  any 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  119 

longer  with  these  people  who  come  to  us  and  hint  at 
mysterious  things." 

Arthur  wrung  my  hand.  He  was  apparently  much 
relieved,  and  he  did  not  know  what  was  coming. 

"Arnold,  you  are  a  brick !"  he  exclaimed.  "That 's 
sound  common-sense  —  every  word  you  've  uttered. 
Let  them  prove  their  claim  to  her." 

"  I  agree  with  every  word  you  have  spoken,"  Allan 
said  quietly,  in  response  to  a  look  from  me.  "  The 
child  is  at  least  safe  with  us,  and  she  is  not  wasting 
her  time.  She  has  talent,  and  she  has  application. 
I,  for  my  part,  shall  be  very  sorry  indeed  when  the 
time  comes,  as  I  suppose  it  will  come  some  day,  for 
her  to  go." 

Then  I  mustered  up  my  courage,  and  said  that 
which  I  had  known  from  the  first  would  be  difficult. 

"  There  is  one  thing  more,"  I  said,  "  and  I  want 
to  say  it  to  you  now.  It  may  seem  to  you  both  un- 
necessary. Perhaps  it  is.  Still,  it  is  better  that  we 
should  come  to  an  understanding  about  it.  A  year 
has  passed  since  Isobel,  the  child,  came  to  us.  To-day 
she  is  a  woman.  If  we  still  keep  her  with  us  there 
must  be  a  bond,  a  covenant  between  us,  and  our 
honour  must  stand  pledged  to  keep  it.  I  think  that 
you  both  know  very  well  what  I  mean.  I  hope  that 
you  will  both  agree  with  me." 

I  paused  for  a  moment,  but  I  received  no  encour- 
agement from  either  of  them.  They  were  both  silent, 
and  Arthur's  eyes  were  questioning  mine  fiercely. 
I  addressed  myself  more  particularly  to  him. 

"  Allan  and  I  are  elderly  persons  compared  with 
you,  Arthur,"  I  said,  "  but  we  might  still  be  described 
at  a  stretch  as  young  men.  If  we  decide  to  remain 


120  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Isobel's  guardians,  there  is  a  further  and  a  deeper 
duty  devolving  upon  us  than  the  obvious  one  of 
treating  her  with  all  respect.  It  is  possible  that  she 
might  come  to  feel  a  preference  for  one  of  us  —  a 
sense  of  gratitude,  the  natural  sentiment  of  her 
coming  womanhood,  even  the  fact  of  continual  pro- 
pinquity might  encourage  it.  Isobel  is  charming; 
she  will  be  beautiful.  The  position,  if  any  one  of  us 
relaxed  in  the  slightest  degree,  might  become  critical. 
You  must  understand  what  I  mean,  I  am  sure,  even 
if  I  am  not  expressing  it  very  clearly.  Isobel  sees 
few,  if  any,  other  men.  It  is  possible,  it  is  almost 
certain,  that  she  belongs  to  a  class  whose  position  and 
ideas  are  far  removed  from  ours.  There  must  be  no 
sentimental  relations  established  between  her  and  any 
one  of  us.  We  are  her  brothers,  she  is  our  sister.  So 
it  must  remain  while  she  is  under  our  charge.  This 
must  be  agreed  upon  between  us." 

There  was  a  dead,  almost  an  ominous,  silence. 
Mabane  was  standing  with  his  arms  folded,  and  his 
face  turned  a  little  away.  I  appealed  first  to  him. 

"  Allan,"  I  said,  "  you  agree  with  me?  " 

"  Absolutely !  "  he  answered.  "  I  agree  with  every 
word  you  have  said." 

I  turned  to  Arthur. 

"And  you,  Arthur?" 

He  did  not  at  once  reply.  The  colour  was  coming 
and  going  in  his  cheeks,  and  he  was  playing  nervously 
with  his  watchchain.  When  he  raised  his  eyes  to 
mine,  the  slight  belligerency  of  his  earlier  manner 
was  more  clearly  defined. 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  "  that  there  is  another  side  to 
the  question.  Isobel  is  the  sort  of  girl  whom  fellows 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  121 

are  bound  to  notice.  Besides,  being  so  jolly  good- 
looking,  she  is  such  ripping  good  form,  and  that  sort 
of  thing.  What  you  are  proposing,  Arnold,  is  simply 
that  we  should  stand  on  one  side  altogether  and  leave 
Isobel  for  any  other  fellow  who  happens  to  come 
along." 

"  It  scarcely  amounts  to  that,"  I  answered.  "  No 
other  man  is  likely  to  see  much  of  her  while  she  is 
under  our  care.  Afterwards,  of  course,  the  condi- 
tions are  different.  Our  covenant,  the  covenant  to 
which  I  am  asking  you  to  agree,  comes  to  an  end 
when  she  leaves  us." 

"  You  see,"  Arthur  protested,  "  it  is  a  little  differ- 
ent, is  n't  it,  for  you  fellows  ?  Not  that  I  'm  com- 
paring myself  with  you,  of  course,  in  any  sort  of 
way.  You  're  both  heaps  cleverer  than  I  am,  and 
all  that,  but  Isobel  and  I  are  nearer  the  same  age, 
and  we  've  been  about  together  such  a  lot,  motoring 
and  all  that,  and  had  such  good  times.  You  under- 
stand what  I  mean,  don't  you?  Of  course,  that  sort 
of  thing,  that  sort  of  thing  —  you  know,  brings  a 
fellow  and  a  girl  together  so,  liking  the  same  things, 
and  being  about  the  same  age.  It  is  n't  quite  like 
that  with  you  two,  is  it  now  ? " 

Again  there  was  silence.  Mabane  had  withdrawn 
his  pipe  from  his  mouth,  and  was  looking  stead- 
fastly into  the  bowl.  As  for  me,  I  found  it  wholly 
impossible  to  analyse  my  sensations.  All  the  time 
Arthur  was  looking  eagerly  from  one  to  the  other 
of  us.  I  recovered  myself  with  an  effort,  and 
answered  him. 

"  We  will  not  dispute  the  position  with  you, 
Arthur,"  I  said  quietly.  "We  will  admit  all  that 


122  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

you  say.  We  will  admit,  therefore,  that  by  all  nat- 
ural laws  you  are  the  one  on  whom  the  burden  of 
keeping  this  covenant  must  fall  most  heavily.  That 
fact  may  make  it  a  little  harder  for  you  than  for  us, 
but  it  does  not  alter  the  position  in  any  way.  There 
must  be  no  attempt  at  sentiment  between  Isobel  and 
any  one  of  us.  If  by  any  chance  the  opening  should 
come  from  her,  it  must  be  ignored  and  discouraged." 

"  I  can't  for  the  life  of  me  see  why,"  Arthur  de- 
clared. "  And  I  —  well,  it 's  no  use  beating  about 
the  bush.  Isobel  is  the  only  girl  in  the  world  I  could 
ever  look  at.  I  am  fond  of  her!  I  can't  help  it!  I 
love  her !  There !  " 

Mabane  mercifully  took  up  the  burden  of  speech. 

"  Have  you  said  anything  to  her  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  No." 

"Not  a  word?" 

"  Not  a  word,"  Arthur  declared.  "  She  is  too 
young.  She  has  not  begun  to  think  about  those 
things  yet.  But  she  is  wonderful,  and  I  love  her. 
It  is  all  very  well  for  you  two,"  he  continued  earnestly. 
"  You  are  both  over  thirty,  and  confirmed  bachelors. 
I  'm  only  just  twenty-four,  and  I  've  never  cared  for 
a  girl  a  snap  of  the  fingers  yet.  I  don't  care  any 
more  about  knocking  about.  Of  course,  I  've  done 
a  bit  at  it  like  everyone  else,  but  Isobel  has  knocked 
all  that  out  of  me.  I  should  be  quite  content  to  settle 
down  to-morrow ! " 

I  tried  to  put  myself  in  his  place,  to  enter  for  a 
moment  into  his  point  of  view.  Yet  I  am  afraid  that 
I  must  have  seemed  very  unsympathetic. 

"  Arthur,"  I  said,  "  I  am  sorry  for  you,  but  it 
won't  do.  I  fancy  that  before  long  she  will  be 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  123 

removed  from  us  altogether.  For  her  sake,  and  the 
sake  of  our  own  honour,  no  word  of  what  you  have 
told  us  must  pass  your  lips.  Unless  you  can  promise 
that " 

I  hesitated.  Arthur  had  risen  to  his  feet.  The 
colour  had  mounted  to  his  temples,  his  eyes  were 
bright  with  anger. 

"  I  will  not  promise  it,"  he  declared.  "  I  love 
Isobel,  and  very  soon  I  mean  to  tell  her  so." 

"  Then  it  must  be  under  another  roof,"  I  answered. 
"  If  you  will  not  promise  to  keep  absolutely  silent 
until  we  at  least  know  exactly  what  her  parentage 
is,  you  must  leave  us." 

Arthur  took  up  his  hat. 

"  Very  well,"  he  said  shortly.  "  I  will  send  for 
my  things  to-morrow." 

He  left  the  room  without  another  word  to  either 
of  us. 


124  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   III 

"  T  N  diplomacy,"  the  Baron  remarked  blandly,  "  as 
Jj[  also,  I  believe,  in  affairs  of  commerce,  the 
dinner-table  is  frequently  chosen  as  a  fitting  place  for 
the  commencement  of  delicate  negotiations.  For  a 
bargain  —  no !  But  when  three  men  —  take  our- 
selves, for  instance  —  have  a  matter  of  some  impor- 
tance to  discuss,  I  can  conceive  no  better  opportunity 
for  the  preliminary  —  skirmishing,  shall  I  say?  — 
than  the  present." 

I  raised  my  glass,  and  looked  thoughtfully  at  the 
pale  amber  wine  bubbling  up  from  the  stem. 

"  From  a  certain  point  of  view,"  I  answered,  "  I 
entirely  agree  with  you.  Yet  you  must  remember 
that  the  host  has  always  the  advantage." 

"  In  the  present  case,"  the  Baron  said  with  a  smile, 
"  that  amounts  to  nothing,  for  you  practically  gave 
me  my  answer  before  we  sat  down  to  dinner.  If  I 
am  able  to  induce  you  to  change  your  mind  —  well, 
so  much  the  better.  If  not  —  well,  I  can  have  noth- 
ing to  complain  of." 

"  I  am  glad,"  I  answered,  "  that  you  appreciate 
our  position.  With  regard  to  the  present  custody  of 
the  child,  which  I  take  it  is  what  you  want  to  discuss 
with  us,  our  minds  are  practically  made  up.  My 
friend  and  I  have  both  agreed  that  we  will  continue 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  125 

the  charge  of  her  until  she  is  claimed  by  someone 
who  is  in  a  position  to  do  so  openly  —  someone,  in 
short,  who  has  a  legal  right." 

The  Baron  nodded  gravely. 

"  An  excellent  decision,"  he  said.  "  No  one  could 
possibly  quarrel  with  it.  Yet  it  is  a  privilege  to  be 
able  to  tell  you  some  facts  which  may  perhaps  affect 
your  point  of  view.  I  can  explain  to  you  why  this 
open  claim  is  not  made." 

"  We  are  here,"  I  answered,  "  to  listen  to  what- 
ever you  may  have  to  say." 

We  —  Allan  and  I  —  were  dining  with  the  Baron 
at  Claridge's.  An  appointment,  which  he  had  begged 
us  to  make,  had  been  changed  into  a  dinner  invita- 
tion at  his  earnest  request.  There  was  a  likelihood, 
he  told  us,  of  his  being  summoned  abroad  at  any 
moment,  and  he  was  particularly  anxious  not  to  leave 
the  hotel  pending  the  arrival  of  a  cablegram.  So  far 
his  demeanour  had  been  courtesy  and  consideration 
itself,  but  under  the  man's  geniality  and  almost  ex- 
cessive bonhomie  both  Allan  and  myself  were  con- 
scious of  a  certain  nervous  impatience,  only  partially 
concealed.  Whatever  proposal  he  might  have  to 
make  to  us,  our  acceptance  of  it  was  without  doubt 
a  matter  of  great  importance  to  him.  The  more  we 
realized  this,  the  more  we  wondered. 

"  I  only  wish,"  he  said  with  emphasis,  "  that  it 
was  within  my  power  to  lay  the  cards  upon  the  table 
before  you,  to  tell  you  the  whole  truth.  I  do  not 
think  then  that  you  would  hesitate  for  a  single 
second.  But  that  I  cannot  do.  The  honour  of  a 
great  house,  Mr.  Greatson,  is  involved  in  this  matter, 
into  which  you  have  been  so  strangely  drawn.  I 


126  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

must  leave  blanks  in  my  story  which  you  must  fill 
in  for  yourselves,  you  and  Mr.  Mabane.  There  are 
things  which  I  may  not  —  dare  not  —  tell  you.  If  I 
could,  you  would  wonder  no  longer  that  those  who 
desire  to  take  over  the  charge  of  the  child  wish  to  do 
so  without  publicity,  and  without  any  appeal  to  the 
courts." 

"  The  Archduchess,"  I  remarked,  "  gave  me  some 
hint  as  to  the  nature  of  these  difficulties." 

The  Baron  emptied  his  glass  and  called  for  another 
bottle  of  wine.  Then  he  looked  carefully  around  him, 
a  quite  unnecessary  precaution,  for  our  table  was  in 
a  remote  corner  of  the  room,  and  there  were  very 
few  dining. 

"  It  is  no  longer,"  he  said,  "  a  matter  of  surmise 
with  us  as  to  who  the  child  you  call  Isobel  de  Sorrens 
really  is.  She  is  of  the  House  of  Waldenburg.  She 
carries  her  descent  written  in  her  face,  a  hall-mark 
no  one  could  deny.  Upon  the  Archduchess  and 
others  of  her  great  family  must  rest  always  the 
shadow  of  a  grave  stigma  so  long  as  the  child  re- 
mains in  the  hands  of  strangers,  an  alien  from  her 
own  country.  The  Archduchess  wishes  at  once,  and 
quietly,  to  assume  the  charge  of  her.  She  is  con- 
scious of  your  services;  she  feels  that  you  have 
probably  saved  the  child  from  a  fate  which  it  is 
not  easy  to  contemplate  calmly.  She  authorizes  me, 
therefore,  to  treat  with  you  in  the  most  generous 
.fashion." 

"  That  is  a  phrase,"  I  remarked,  "  which  I  do  not 
-•altogether  understand." 

"  Later,"  the  Baron  said,  with  a  meaning  look, 
*"  I  will  make  myself  clear.  In  the  meantime,  let 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  127 

me  recommend  this  souffle.  Mr.  Mabane,  you  are 
drinking  nothing.  Would  you  prefer  your  wine  a 
shade  colder?  " 

"  Not  for  me,"  Allan  declared.  "  I  prefer  cham- 
pagne at  its  natural  temperature;  the  wine  is  far 
too  good  to  have  its  flavour  frozen  out  of  it.  Apropos 
of  what  you  were  saying,  Baron,  there  is  one  ques- 
tion which  I  should  like  to  ask  you.  Why  was  Major 
Delahaye  sent  to  St.  Argueil  for  Isobel,  and  what 
was  he  supposed  to  do  with  her?" 

I  do  not  think  that  the  Baron  liked  the  question* 
He  hesitated  for  several  moments  before  he  an- 
swered it. 

"  Major  Delahaye  was  not  sent,"  he  said.  "  He 
went  on  his  own  account.  He  was  the  only  person 
who  knew  the  child's  whereabouts." 

"  And  what  do  you  suppose  his  object  was  in 
bringing  her  away  from  the  convent?"  Allan 
persisted. 

"  I  do  not  know,"  the  Baron  answered.  "  All  I 
can  say  is  that  it  pleases  me  vastly  more  to  find  the 
child  in  your  keeping  than  in  his." 

"  Was  the  man  who  shot  him,"  I  asked,  "  con- 
cerned in  the  child's  earlier  history?" 

"  I  cannot  place  him  at  all,"  the  Baron  an- 
swered. "  I  should  imagine  that  his  quarrel  with 
Major  Delahaye  was  a  personal  one,  and  had  no 
bearing  upon  the  child.  Few  men  had  more  ene- 
mies than  Delahaye.  One  does  not  wish  to  speak 
ill  of  the  dead,  but  he  was  a  bully  and  a  brute  all 
his  days." 

A  servant  in  plain  black  livery  brought  a  sealed 
note  to  our  host,  and  stood  respectfully  by  his  side 


128  THE    MASTER   MUMMER 

while  he  read  it.  It  obviously  consisted  of  but  a 
few  words,  yet  the  Baron  continued  to  hold  it  in 
front  of  him  for  nearly  a  minute.  Finally,  he 
crushed  it  in  his  hand,  and  dismissed  the  servant. 

"  There  is  no  answer,"  he  said.  "  I  shall  wait 
upon  her  Highness  in  an  hour." 

Our  dinner  was  over.  Both  Mabane  and  myself 
had  declined  dessert.  Our  host  rose. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  I  have  ordered  coffee  in 
the  smoking-room.  The  head-waiter  has  told  me 
of  some  wonderful  brandy,  and  I  have  some  cigars 
which  I  am  anxious  for  you  to  try.  Will  you  come 
this  way?  " 

We  were  the  only  occupants  of  the  smoking-room. 
The  Baron  appropriated  a  corner,  and  left  us  to 
fetch  the  cigars.  Mabane  lit  a  cigarette  and  leaned 
back  in  an  easy-chair. 

"  It  seems  to  me,  Arnold,"  he  said,  "  that  you  are 
like  the  man  who  found  what  he  went  out  for  to  see. 
You  wanted  tragedy  —  and  you  came  very  near  it. 
I  do  not  quite  see  what  the  end  of  all  these  things 
will  be.  Our  host " 

"  There  is  a  disappointment  in  store  for  him,  I 
fancy,"  I  interrupted.  "  He  is  a  very  faithful  ser- 
vant of  the  Archduchess,  and  he  has  worked  hard  for 
her.  From  his  point  of  view  his  arguments  are 
reasonable  enough.  All  that  he  says  is  plausible  — 
and  yet  —  one  feels  that  there  is  something  behind 
it  all.  Allan,  I  don't  trust  one  of  these  people!  I 
can't!" 

"  Nor  I,"  Allan  answered  softly,  for  the  Baron  had 
already  entered  the  room. 

He  brought  with  him  some  wonderful  cabanas, 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  129 

and  immediately  afterwards  coffee  and  liqueurs  were 
served.  The  moment  the  waiter  had  disappeared,  he 
threw  off  all  reserve. 

"  Come,"  he  said,  "  I  am  no  longer  your  host.  We 
meet  here  on  equal  terms.  I  have  an  offer  to  make 
to  you  which  I  think  you  will  find  astonishing.  The 
fact  is,  her  Highness  is  anxious  to  run  no  risk  of 
any  resurrection  of  a  certain  scandal.  She  has  com- 
missioned me  to  beg  your  acceptance  —  you  and  your 
friend  —  of  these,"  he  laid  down  two  separate  pieces 
of  paper  upon  the  table.  "  She  wishes  to  relieve  you 
as  soon  as  possible  to-night,  if  you  can  arrange  it  — 
of  the  care  of  a  certain  young  lady.  There  need  be 
no  hesitation  about  your  acceptance.  Royalty,  as  you 
know,  has  special  privileges  so  far  as  regards  bounty, 
and  her  Highness  appreciates  most  heartily  the  care 
and  kindness  which  the  child  has  received  at  your 
hands." 

I  stared  at  my  piece  of  paper.  It  was  a  cheque 
for  five  thousand  pounds.  I  looked  at  Mabane's.  It 
was  a  cheque  for  a  like  amount.  Then  I  looked  up 
at  the  Baron.  The  perspiration  was  standing  out 
upon  his  forehead.  He  was  watching  us  as  a  man 
might  watch  one  in  whose  hands  lay  the  power  of 
life  or  death.  I  resisted  my  first  impulse,  which  was 
simply  to  tear  the  cheque  in  two.  I  simply  pushed 
it  back  across  the  table. 

"  Baron,"  I  said,  "  if  this  is  meant  as  a  recom- 
pense for  any  kindness  which  we  have  shown  to  a 
friendless  child,  it  is  unnecessary  and  unacceptable. 
If  it  is  meant,"  I  added  more  slowly,  "  for  a  bribe, 
it  is  not  enough." 

"  Call  it  what  you  will,"  he  answered  quickly. 
9 


130  THE    MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Name  your  own  price  for  the  child  —  brought  here 
—  to-night." 

"  No  price  that  you  or  your  mistress  could  pay, 
Baron,"  I  answered  quietly.  "  I  told  you  my  ulti- 
matum two  hours  ago.  The  child  remains  with  us 
until  she  is  claimed  by  one  who  has  a  legal  right, 
and  is  not  afraid  to  invoke  the  law." 

"  But  I  have  explained  the  position,"  the  Baron 
protested.  "  You  must  understand  why  we  cannot 
bring  such  a  matter  as  this  into  the  courts." 

"  Your  story  is  ingenious,  and,  pardon  me,  it  may 
be  true,"  I  answered.  "We  require  proof!" 

The  Baron's  face  was  not  pleasant  to  look 
upon. 

"  You  doubt  my  word,  sir  —  my  word,  and  the 
word  of  the  Archduchess  ?  " 

I  rose  to  my  feet.  Mabane  followed  my  example. 
I  felt  that  a  storm  was  pending. 

"  Baron,"  I  said,  "  there  are  some  causes  which 
make  strange  demands  upon  the  best  of  us.  A  man 
may  lie  to  save  a  woman's  honour,  or,  if  he  be  a 
politician,  for  the  good  of  his  country.  I  cannot  dis- 
•cuss  this  matter  any  further  with  you.  My  sole  re- 
gret is  that  we  ever  discussed  it  at  all.  My  friend 
.and  I  must  wish  you  good-night." 

"  By  heavens,  you  shall  not  go !  "  the  Baron  ex- 
•claimed.  "  What  right  have  you  to  the  child  ?  None 
;at  all!  Her  Highness  wishes  to  be  generous.  It 
•pleases  you  to  flout  her  generosity.  Mr.  Arnold 
»Greatson,  you  are  a  fool!  Don't  you  see  that  you 
are  a  pigmy,  who  has  stolen  through  the  back  door 
into  the  world  where  great  things  are  dealt  with? 
You  have  no  place  there.  You  cannot  keep  the  child 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  131 

away  from  us.  You  have  no  influence,  no  money.. 
You  are  nobody.  If  you  think " 

Mabane  interposed. 

"  Baron,"  he  said,  "  if  you  were  not  still,  in  a 
sense,  our  host,  I  should  knock  you  down.  As  it  is,, 
permit  me  to  tell  you  that  you  are  talking  nonsense."" 

The  Baron  drew  a  sharp,  quick  breath. 

"  You  are  right,"  he  said  shortly.  "  I  am  a  fool 
to  discuss  this  with  you  at  all.  It  is  not  worth  while. 
The  Archduchess,  out  of  kindness,  would  have  treated 
you  as  friends.  You  decline!  Good!  You  shall  be 
treated  —  as  you  deserve." 

The  Baron  threw  open  the  door  and  bowed  us  out. 
The  commissionaire  helped  us  on  with  our  coats  and 
summoned  a  hansom.  We  were  just  driving  off, 
when  a  man  in  a  long  travelling  coat,  who  had  been 
standing  outside  the  swing-door  of  the  hotel,  calmly 
swung  himself  up  into  the  cab  and  motioned  to  us 
to  make  room.  I  stared  at  him  in  blank  amazement. 

"Hullo!"  I  exclaimed.     "What " 

"  It  is  I,  my  friend,"  Mr.  Grooten  answered  calmly. 
"  Tell  the  man  to  drive  to  your  rooms." 


132  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   IV 

"  T    AM  staying  at  Claridge's,  or  rather  I  was/* 

_§,  Mr.  Grooten  remarked,  as  we  turned  into 
Brook  Street.  "  I  saw  you  with  Leibingen,  and  I 
have  been  waiting  for  you.  We  will  talk,  I  think, 
at  your  rooms." 

Whereupon  he  lit  a  fresh  cigarette,  and  did  not 
speak  a  word  until  we  had  reached  our  destination. 
Isobel  had  gone  to  bed,  and  our  sitting-room  was 
empty.  I  turned  up  the  lamp,  and  pushed  a  chair 
towards  him.  In  various  small  ways  he  seemed  to 
have  succeeded  in  effecting  a  wonderful  change  in 
his  appearance.  His  hair  was  differently  arranged, 
and  much  greyer.  His  face  was  pale  and  drawn  as 
though  with  illness.  But  for  his  voice  and  his  broad, 
humorous  mouth  I  doubt  whether  I  should  imme- 
diately have  recognized  him. 

"  I  perceive,"  he  said,  "  that  I  am  not  forgotten. 
It  is  very  flattering!  My  friends  abroad  tell  me 
that  I  have  altered  a  good  deal  during  the  last  twelve 
months." 

"  You  have  altered,  without  a  doubt,"  I  admitted. 
"  But  the  circumstances  connected  with  our  first 
meeting  were  scarcely  such  as  tend  towards  forget- 
fulness.  You  remember  my  friend,  Mr.  Allan 
.Mabane?" 

"  Perfectly,"  he  assented,  with  a  courteous  little 
wave  of  the  hand.  "  I  am  very  glad  to  have  come 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  133 

across  you  both  again  so  opportunely.  I  only  arrived 
in  England  a  few  days  ago,  but  I  did  not  hope  to 
have  this  pleasure  until  the  morning  at  the  earliest. 
You  expected  to  have  heard  from  me,  perhaps, 
before/5 

"  I  don't  know  about  that,"  I  answered,  "  but  I 
can  assure  you  that  we  are  both  very  glad  to  see 
you,  for  more  reasons  than  one.  There  are  a  good 
many  things  which  we  are  anxious  to  discuss  with 
you." 

"  The  pleasure,  then,  is  mutual/'  Mr.  Grooten 
remarked  affably.  "  Isobel  is,  I  trust,  well?" 

"  She  is  quite  well,"  I  answered. 

"  You  are  helping  her  to  spend  her  time  profitably, 
I  am  glad  to  find,"  he  continued.  "  I  saw  two  mini- 
atures of  hers  yesterday  at  the  Mordaunt  Rooms." 

"  Isobel  has  gifts,"  I  said.  "  We  are  doing  our 
best  to  assist  her  in  their  development." 

Mr.  Grooten  raised  his  eyes  to  mine.  He  looked 
at  me  steadily. 

"  Why  have  you  refused  to  use  the  money  which 
I  placed  to  your  credit  at  the  National  Bank  for  her?  " 
he  asked. 

"  Because,"  I  answered,  "  we  are  not  aware  what 
right  you  have  to  provide  for  her." 

Mr.  Grooten  smiled  upon  us  —  much  as  a  sphynx 
might  have  smiled.  It  had  the  effect  of  making  us 
both  feel  very  young. 

"  My  claim,"  he  murmured,  "  must  surely  be  as 
good  as  yours." 

"  Perhaps,"  I  admitted.  "  At  any  rate,  the  money 
remains  there  in  her  name.  She  may  find  herself 
in  greater  need  of  it  later  on  in  life." 


134  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Mr.  Grooten  seemed  to  find  some  amusement  in 
the  idea. 

"  No,"  he  said,  "  I  do  not  think  that  that  is  likely. 
You  could  safely  have  used  the  money,  but  as  you 
have  not  —  well,  it  is  of  small  consequence.  I  pre- 
sume that  attempts  have  been  made  to  withdraw 
the  child  from  your  care  ?  " 

"  Several,"  I  told  him.  "  Madame  Richard  and 
Lady  Delahaye  were  equally  importunate." 

Grooten  nodded. 

"  You  have  shown,"  he  said,  "  an  admirable  dis- 
cretion in  refusing  to  give  her  up  to  either  of  them." 

"  And  to-day,"  I  continued,  "  a  third  claimant 
to  the  care  of  her  has  intervened.  The  Archduchess 
of  Bristlaw  herself  has  offered  to  relieve  us  of  our 
guardianship." 

Mr.  Grooten  dropped  the  cigarette  which  he  had 
only  just  lit,  and  seemed  for  the  moment  unconscious 
of  the  fact.  He  made  no  effort  to  pick  it  up.  He 
quivered  as  though  someone  had  struck  him  a  blow. 
For  a  man  whose  impassivity  was  almost  a  part  of 
himself  he  was  evidently  deeply  agitated. 

"  The  Archduchess  —  has  seen  Isobel !  "  he 
muttered. 

"  They  met  by  chance  at  the  Mordaunt  Rooms  a 
few  afternoons  ago,"  I  told  him.  "  The  Archduchess 
was  accompanied  by  a  girl  of  about  Isobel's  age. 
We  came  upon  them  suddenly,  and  the  likeness  was 
so  marvellous  that  we  were  all  startled.  There  was 
something  in  the  nature  of  a  scene.  We  left  the 
Gallery  at  once,  but  the  Archduchess  sent  one  of  her 
suite  for  me.  I  had  some  conversation  with  her 
concerning  Isobel." 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  135 

"  Can  you  repeat  it  ?  "  Grooten  asked. 

"  In  substance  —  yes,"  I  told  him.  "  The  Arch- 
duchess plainly  hinted  that  she  believed  Isobel  to 
be  connected  morganatically  with  her  family.  She 
wished  to  take  her  under  her  own  charge  and  provide 
for  her." 

"And  you?" 

"  I  thought  it  best  to  take  some  time  for  reflection. 
I  had  some  idea  of  looking  up  the  history  of  the 
Archduchess's  family." 

'*  You  made  no  promise  ?  " 

"  Certainly  not.  To  tell  you  the  truth,  I  was 
influenced  by  the  presence  of  Lady  Delahaye  amongst 
the  royal  party.  I  have  no  faith  in  Lady  Delahaye' s 
good  intentions  with  regard  to  Isobel." 

Mr.  Grooten  flashed  a  quick  glance  upon  me. 

"  Yet,"  he  said  softly,  "  report  says  that  you  and 
Lady  Delahaye  have  been  very  good  friends." 

"  That,"  I  answered,  "  is  beside  the  mark.  I  knew 
her  before  her  marriage,  but  I  have  seen  very  little  of 
her  since.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  our  relations  at  the 
present  time  are  scarcely  amicable.  We  have  had  a 
difference  of  opinion  concerning  our  guardianship 
of  Isobel.  Lady  Delahaye  does  not  approve  of  her 
presence  here  with  us." 

Mr.  Grooten  smiled. 

"  That,"  he  said,  "  is  probable.  May  I  proceed  to 
ask  a  somewhat  impertinent  question?  You  were 
the  guests  to-night,  I  believe,  of  the  Baron  von 
Leibingen,  who  is,  I  understand,  a  persona  grata  with 
the  Archduchess.  I  presume  that  your  meeting  in 
some  way  concerned  Isobel  ?  " 

"  Isobel  was  the  sole  cause  of  it,"   I  answered. 


136  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

"  The  Archduchess  is  a  woman  who  perseveres.  She 
declined  to  consider  that  my  reply  to  her  first  tenta- 
tive offer  was  in  any  way  final.  She  passed  the  matter 
on  to  the  Baron,  and  certainly  until  he  lost  his  temper 
towards  the  end  of  our  interview,  he  was  a  very 
efficient  ambassador.  He  proved  to  us  quite  clearly 
that  it  was  our  duty  to  give  Isobel  up  to  those  who 
had  a  better  right  to  assume  the  charge  of  her,  and 
he  wound  up  by  handing  us  cheques  for  —  I  think  it 
was  five  thousand  pounds  each,  wasn't  it,  Allan?" 

Mr.  Grooten  leaned  back  in  his  chair  and  laughed 
silently,  yet  with  obvious  enjoyment. 

"  That  poor  von  Leibingen,"  he  murmured,  "  how 
he  blunders  his  way  through  life!  Yet,  my  friend, 
I  am  afraid  that  this  charge  which  I  so  thoughtlessly 
laid  upon  you  is  proving  very  troublesome.  And 
you  perceive  that  I  do  not  even  offer  you  a  cheque." 

Allan  suddenly  rose  up  and  knocked  the  ashes  from 
his  pipe  into  the  fire. 

"  You  do  not  offer  us  a  cheque,  Mr.  Grooten,"  he 
said  quietly,  "  because  you  have  perceptions.  But 
there  is  another  way  in  which  you  can  recompense 
us  for  the  trifling  inconveniences  to  which  we  have 
been  put.  You  can  make  our  task  easier  —  and 
more  dignified;  you  can  answer  a  question  which  I 
think  I  may  say  that  we  have  an  absolute  right  to 
ask  you." 

Mr.  Grooten  inclined  his  head  slightly.  He  made 
no  remark.  Allan  turned  to  me. 

"  Arnold,"  he  said,  "  this  is  more  your  affair  than 
mine,  for  it  is  you  who  have  borne  the  brunt  of  it 
from  the  first.  I  do  not  wish  to  interfere  in  it  unduly. 
But  from  every  point  of  view,  I  think  that  the  time 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

has  come  when  all  this  mystery  concerning  Isobel's 
antecedents  should  be,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned 
at  any  rate,  cleared  up.  Our  hands  would  be  im- 
mensely strengthened  by  the  knowledge  of  the  truth. 
Your  friend  here,  Mr.  Grooten,  can  tell  us  if  he  will. 
Ask  him  to  do  so.  I  will  go  further.  I  will  even  say 
that  we  have  a  right  to  insist  upon  it." 

Mr.  Grooten  sat  immovable.  One  could  scarcely 
gather  from  his  face  that  he  had  heard  a  word  oi 
Allan's  speech. 

"  You  are  quite  right,  Allan,"  I  answered.  "  Mr. 
Grooten,"  I  continued,  turning  towards  him,  "  you 
are  the  best  judge  as  to  whether  your  presence  in 
this  country  is  altogether  wise,  but  I  can  assure  you 
that  for  the  last  six  months  we  have  looked  for  you 
every  day,  and  for  this  same  reason.  We  want  that 
question  answered.  The  time  has  come  when,  in 
common  justice  to  us  and  the  child,  the  whole  thing 
should  be  cleared  up.  Whatever  knowledge  rests 
with  you  is  safe  also  with  us.  I  think  that  we  have 
proved  that.  I  think  that  we  have  earned  our  right 
to  your  complete  confidence.  Mabane  and  I  you  can 
consider  as  one  in  this  matter.  You  can  speak  before 
him  as  though  we  were  alone.  Now  tell  us  the  whole 
truth." 

"  I  cannot,"  Mr.  Grooten  answered  simply. 

There  was  a  certain  crisp  definiteness  about  those 
two  words  which  carried  conviction  with  them. 
Mabane  and  I  were  a  little  staggered.  Our  position 
was  such  a  strong  one,  our  request  so  reasonable, 
that  I  think  that  we  had  never  realized  the  possibility 
of  a  refusal. 

"  May  I  ask  you  this  ?  "  Mabane  said.     "  Do  you 


138  THE    MASTER    MUMMER 

expect  that  we  shall  continue  our  —  I  suppose  we 
may  call  it  guardianship  —  of  Isobel  in  the  face  of 
your  present  attitude  ?  " 

"  I  hope  so,  for  the  present,"  our  visitor  admitted 
softly. 

"  Notwithstanding,"  Mabane  continued,  "  our 
absolute  ignorance  of  everything  connected  with  her, 
our  lack  of  any  sort  of  claim  or  title  to  the  charge 
of  her,  and  the  increasing  number  of  people  who 
still  persist  in  trying  to  take  her  from  us  ?  " 

Mr.  Grooten  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  You  omit  to  mention  the  factors  in  the  situation 
which  may  be  said  to  be  on  your  side,"  he  murmured. 

"  I  should  be  interested  to  know  what  those  are," 
I  remarked. 

"  Certainly.  The  first  and  most  powerful  of  all  is, 
of  course,  possession." 

Mabane  nodded. 

"And  after  that?" 

"  The  fact  that  not  one  of  the  three  people  who 
have  appealed  to  you  for  the  charge  of  the  child  is 
in  a  position  to  use  the  only  real  force  which  exists 
in  this  land.  I  mean  the  law,"  Grooten  continued. 

This  kept  us  silent  again  for  a  moment.  Mabane, 
I  could  see,  was  getting  a  little  ruffled. 

"  You  pelt  us  with  enigmas,  sir,"  he  said.  "  You 
answer  our  questions  only  by  propounding  fresh 
conundrums.  One  thing,  at  least,  you  may  feel 
disposed  to  tell  us.  What  is  your  own  relationship 
to  Isobel?" 

"  None,"  Mr.  Grooten  answered. 

"  Your  interest,  then  ?  " 

Mr.  Grooten  remained  silent.    He  sat  in  his  chair, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  139 

very  still  and  very  quiet.  Yet  in  his  eyes  there  shone 
for  a  moment  something  which  seemed  to  bring  into 
the  little  room  the  shadow  of  great  things.  Mabane 
and  I  both  felt  it.  We  had  the  sense  of  having  been 
left  behind.  The  little  man  in  his  chair  seemed  to 
have  been  lifted  out  of  our  reach  into  the  mightier 
world  of  passion  and  suffering  and  self-conquest. 

"  I  loved  her  mother,"  he  said  softly.  "  I  was  the 
man  whom  her  mother  loved." 

There  was  a  silence  between  us  then.  We  had 
no  more  to  say.  We  were  at  that  moment  his  bounden 
slaves.  But  by  some  evil  chance,  after  a  lengthened 
pause,  he  continued  — 

"  I,  alas,  could  do  little  for  the  child.  Yet  when 
I  heard  that  harm  was  threatened  to  her  through 
that  scamp  Delahaye,  I  crossed  the  ocean  at  an  hour's 
notice.  I  saved  her  from  him.  He  deserved  his  fate, 
but  I  am  no  murderer  by  profession,  and  the  shock 
unnerved  me  for  a  time.  Then " 

"Hush!"  Mabane  cried. 

I  sprang  to  the  door.  It  had  been  thrust  about  a 
foot  open.  From  outside  came  the  sound  of  angry 
voices,  followed  by  a  moment's  silence.  Then  a 
quick,  shrill  cry  of  triumph. 

"  Let  me  in.  Oh,  you  shall  not  stop  me  now.  I 
am  going  to  see  the  man  who  boasts  of  being  my 
husband's  murderer!  " 

It  was  the  voice  of  Lady  Delahaye.  She  was 
already  upon  the  threshold.  I  sprang  to  the  table 
and  saw  her  coming.  Already  she  was  behind  the 
screen,  stealing  into  the  room,  her  head  thrust  for- 
ward, her  lips  parted,  a  peculiar  glitter  in  her  eyes. 
For  a  moment  I  stood  rigid.  The  sight  of  her 


140  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

fascinated  me  —  there  was  something  so  wholly 
animal-like  in  the  stealthy  triumph  of  her  tiptoe 
approach.  I  recovered  myself  just  in  time.  One 
more  step,  a  turn  of  her  head,  and  she  would 
have  seen  Grooten.  My  finger  pressed  down  the 
catch  of  the  lamp,  and  a  sudden  darkness  filled  the 
room. 

She  stopped  short.  Her  fierce  little  cry  of  anger 
told  me  exactly  where  she  was.  I  stepped  forward 
and  caught  her  wrists  firmly.  Then  I  faced  where 
I  knew  Grooten  was  still  sitting.  I  could  see  the 
red  end  of  his  cigarette  still  in  his  mouth. 

"  Leave  the  room  at  once,"  I  said.  "  You  can  push 
the  screen  on  one  side,  and  you  are  within  a  yard  of 
the  door  then.  Please  do  exactly  as  I  say,  and  don't 
reply." 

"  Let  go  my  hands,  sir !  Arnold,  how  dare  you ! 
Let  me  go,  or  I  '11  scream  the  place  down.  Mr. 
Mabane,  you  will  not  permit  this?"  she  cried,  in  a 
fury. 

Mabane  closed  the  door  through  which  Grooten 
had  already  issued,  and  I  heard  the  key  turn  in  the 
lock.  I  released  Lady  Delahaye's  hands,  and  she 
sprang  away  from  me.  As  the  flame  from  the  lamp 
which  Allan  had  just  rekindled  gained  in  power  we 
saw  her,  still  shaking  the  handle,  but  with  her  back 
now  against  the  wall  turned  to  face  us.  She  was 
calmer  than  I  had  expected,  but  it  was  a  terrible  look 
which  she  flashed  upon  us. 

"  In  how  many  minutes,"  she  asked,  "  may  I  be 
released  ?  " 

Allan  whispered  in  my  ear. 

"  In  five  minutes,  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  said.     "  I 


She  was  calmer  than  I  had  expected,  but  it  was  a  terrible  look 
which  she  flashed  upon  us.      Page  140. 

The  Master  Mummer. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  141 

regret  very  much  the  necessity  for  keeping  you  at 
all.  May  I  offer  you  a  chair?  " 

"  You  may  offer  me  nothing,  sir,  except  your 
silence,"  she  answered  swiftly. 

She  meant  it  too.  I  know  the  signs  of  anger  in 
a  woman's  face  as  well  as  most  men,  and  they  were 
written  there  plainly  enough.  So  for  a  most  uncom- 
fortable period  of  time  we  waited  there  until  Allan,, 
after  a  glance  at  his  watch,  went  and  opened  the 
door.  She  passed  out  without  remark,  but  from  the 
threshold  outside  she  turned  and  looked  at  me. 

"  I  warned  you  once  before,  Arnold  Greatson,"  she 
said,  "  that  you  were  meddling  with  greater  concerns 
than  you  knew  of,  and  that  harm  would  come  to  you 
for  it.  Now  you  have  chosen  to  shield  a  murderer, 
and  to  use  your  strength  upon  a  woman.  These 
things  will  not  go  unforgotten !  " 

Mabane  closed  the  door,  and  threw  himself  into 
an  easy  chair. 

"  For  two  easy-going  sort  of  fellows,  Arnold,"  he 
said  to  me,  "  we  seem  to  be  making  a  lot  of  enemies. 
Don't  you  think  it  would  be  a,  good  idea  if  we  drew 
stumps  for  a  bit?" 

"  Meaning?  "  I  asked. 

"Roseleys!" 

"  LWe  '11  go  to-morrow,"  I  declared. 


.142  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   V 

"  T   HAVE  never  seen  anything  like  this,"  Isobel 

J.  said  softly.  I  looked  up  from  the  writing-pad 
on  my  knee,  and  she  met  my  glance  with  a  smile  of 
contrition. 

"  Ah,"  she  said.  "  I  forgot  that  I  must  not  talk. 
Indeed,  I  did  not  mean  to,  but  —  look !  " 

I  followed  her  eyes. 

"  Well,"  I  said,  "  tell  me  what  you  see." 

"  There  are  so  many  beautiful  things,"  she  mur- 
mured. "  Do  you  see  how  thick  and  green  the  grass 
is  in  the  meadows  there?  How  the  quaker  grasses 
glimmer?  —  you  call  them  so,  do  you  not?  —  and 
how  those  yellow  cowslips  shine  like  gold?  What 
a  world  of  colour  it  all  seems.  London  is  so  grey 
and  cold,  and  here  —  look  at  the  sea,  and  the  sky, 
with  all  those  dear  little  fleecy  white  clouds,  and  the 
pink  and  white  of  all  those  wild  roses  wound  in  and 
out  of  the  hedges.  Oh,  Arnold,  it  is  all  beautiful !  " 

"  Even  without  a  motor-car !  "  I  remarked. 

She  looked  at  me  a  little  resentfully. 

"  Motoring  is  very  delightful,"  she  said,  "  although 
you  do  not  like  it.  Of  course,  it  would  be  nice  if 
Arthur  were  here !  " 

She  looked  away  from  me  seawards,  and  I  found 
myself  studying  her  expression  with  an  interest  which 
had  something'  more  in  it  than  mere  curiosity.  At 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  143 

odd  times  lately  I  had  fancied  that  I  could  see  it 
coming.  To-day,  for  the  first  time,  I  was  sure.  The 
smooth  transparency  of  childhood,  the  unrestrained 
but  almost  animal  play  of  features  and  eyes,  repro- 
ducing with  photographic  accuracy  every  small  emo- 
tion and  joy  —  these  things  were  passing  away. 
Even  before  her  time  the  child  was  seeking  knowl- 
edge. As  she  sat  there,  with  her  steadfast  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  smooth  blue  line  where  sea  and  sky  met, 
who  could  tell  what  thoughts  were  passing  in  her 
mind  ?  Not  I,  not  Mabane,  nor  any  of  us  into  whose 
care  she  had  come.  Only  I  knew  that  she  saw  new 
things,  that  the  rush  of  a  more  complex  and  stronger 
life  was  already  troubling  her,  the  sweet  pangs  of  its 
birth  were  already  tugging  at  her  heartstrings.  My 
pencil  rested  idly  in  my  fingers,  my  eyes,  like  hers, 
sought  that  distant  line,  beyond  which  lies  ever  the 
world  of  one's  own  creation.  What  did  she  see  there, 
I  wondered?  Never  again  should  I  be  able  to  ask 
with  the  full  certainty  of  knowing  all  that  was  in  her 
mind.  The  time  had  come  for  delicate  reserves,  the 
time  when  the  child  of  yesterday,  with  the  first  faint 
notes  of  a  new  and  wonderful  song  stealing  into  her 
heart,  must  fence  her  new  modesty  around  with  many 
sweet  elusions  and  barriers,  fairy  creations  to  be  swept 
aside  later  on  in  one  glad  moment — by  the  one  chosen 
person.  There  was  a  coldness  in  my  heart  when  I 
realized  that  the  time  had  come  even  for  the  child 
who  had  tripped  so  lightly  into  our  lives  so  short  a 
time  ago,  to  pass  away  from  us  into  that  other  and 
more  complex  world.  It  was  the  decree  of  sex,  na- 
ture's immutable  law,  sundering  playfellows,  sever- 
ing friendships,  driving  its  unwilling  victims  into 


144  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

opposite  corners  of  the  world,  with  all  the  pitiless- 
ness  of  natural  law.  Nevertheless,  the  thought  of 
these  things  as  I  looked  at  Isobel  made  me  sad.  She 
was  young  indeed  for  these  days  to  come,  for  the 
shadows  to  steal  into  her  eyes,  and  the  song  of 
trouble  to  grow  in  her  heart. 

"  Tell  me,"  I  asked  softly,  "  what  you  see  beyond 
that  blue  line." 

"  I  can  tell  you  more  easily,"  she  said,  glancing 
down  with  a  faint  smile  at  my  empty  pages,  "  what 
I  see  by  my  side  —  a  very  lazy  man.  And,"  she  con- 
tinued, crumpling  a  little  ball  of  heather  in  her  fingers 
and  throwing  it  with  unerring  aim  at  Allan,  "  another 
one  over  there !  " 

"  My  picture,"  Allan  protested,  "  is  finished." 

"  Nonsense !  "  she  exclaimed,  preparing  to  rise,  but 
he  waved  her  back. 

"  In  my  mind,"  he  added.  "  Don't  misunderstand 
me.  The  casual  and  ignorant  observer  glancing  just 
now  at  my  canvas  might  come  to  the  same  conclusion 
as  you  —  a  conclusion,  by-the-bye,  entirely  erroneous. 
I  will  admit  that  my  canvas  is  unspoilt.  Nevertheless, 
my  picture  is  painted." 

She  looked  across  at  him  reproachfully. 

"  Allan,  how  dare  you !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  Only 
Arnold  has  the  right  to  be  subtle.  I  have  always 
regarded  you  as  a  straightforward  and  honest  per- 
son. Don't  disappoint  me." 

"St.  Andrew  forbid  it!"  Allan  declared.  "My 
meaning  is  painfully  simple.  I  build  up  my  picture 
first  in  my  mind.  Its  transmission  to  canvas  is  purely 
mechanical.  Here  goes !  " 

He  took  up  his  palette,  and  in  a  few  moments  was 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  14$ 

hard  at  work.  Isobel  pointed  downwards  to  my 
writing-pad. 

"  Can  you  too  match  Allan's  excuse?"  she  asked. 
"  Is  your  story  already  written  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  I  have  been  watching  you,"  I  answered.  "  Be- 
sides, for  a  perfectly  lazy  person,  are  you  not  rather 
a  hard  task-mistress?  Consider  that  this  is  our  first 
day  of  summer  —  the  first  time  we  have  seen  the 
sun  make  diamonds  on  the  sea,  the  first  west  wind 
which  has  come  to  us  with  the  scent  of  cowslips  and 
wild  roses.  I  claim  the  right  to  be  lazy  if  I  want 
to  be." 

She  smiled. 

"  The  poet,"  she  murmured,  "  finds  these  things 
inspiring." 

"  The  poet,"  I  answered,  "  is  an  ordinary  creature. 
Nowadays  he  eats  mutton-chops,  plays  golf,  and  has 
a  banking  account.  The  real  man  of  feeling,  Isobel, 
is  the  man  who  knows  how  to  be  idle.  Believe  me, 
there  is  a  certain  vulgarity  in  seeking  to  make  a 
stock-in-trade  of  these  delicious  moments." 

"  That  is  not  fair,"  she  protested.  "  How  should 
we  all  live  if  none  of  you  did  any  work  ?  " 

"  For  your  age,  Isobel,"  I  declared  seriously, 
"  you  are  very  nearly  a  practical  person.  You  make 
me  more  than  ever  anxious  for  an  answer  to  my 
last  question.  What  were  you  thinking  of  just 
now?" 

Her  eyes  seemed  to  drift  away  from  mine.  A 
touch  of  her  new  seriousness  returned.  She  pointed 
to  that  thin  blue  line. 

"  Beyond  there,"  she  said,  "  is  to-morrow,  and  alt 
10 


146  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

the  to-morrows  to  come.  One  sees  a  very  little 
way." 

"  Our  limitations,"  I  answered,  "  are  life's  lesson 
to  us.  If  to-morrow  is  hidden,  so  much  the  more 
reason  that  we  should  live  to-day." 

"  Without  thought  for  the  morrow  ?  " 

"  Without  care  for  it,"  I  answered.  "  Are  we 
not  Bohemians,  and  is  it  not  our  text?" 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  It  is  not  yours,"  she  answered  slowly.  "  I  am 
sure  of  that." 

I  looked  at  her  quickly. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Just  what  I  say,"  she  answered  gravely.  "  Men 
and  women  to  whom  the  present  is  sufficient  surely 
cannot  achieve  very  much  in  life.  All  the  time  they 
must  concentrate  powers  which  need  expansion.  I 
think  that  it  must  be  those  who  try  to  climb  the  walls, 
those  even  who  tear  their  fingers  and  their  hearts 
in  the  great  struggle  for  freedom,  who  can  make 
themselves  capable  of  great  things,  even  if  escape  is 
impossible.  But  I  do  not  think  that  escape  is  so  im- 
possible after  all,  is  it?  There  have  been  men,  and 
women  too,  who  have  lived  in  all  times,  to  whom 
there  have  been  no  to-morrows  or  any  yesterdays. 
Only  it  seems  rather  hard  that  life  for  those  who 
seek  it  must  always  be  a  battle!" 

I  did  not  answer  her  for  several  minutes.  It  was 
true,  then,  that  the  old  days  had  passed  away.  Isobel, 
the  child  whom  we  had  known  and  loved  so  well, 
had  disappeared.  It  was  Isobel  the  incomprehensible 
who  was  taking  her  place.  What  might  the  change 
not  mean  for  us?  , 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  147 

Later  we  walked  back  over  an  open  heath  yellow 
with  gorse,  and  faintly  pink  with  the  promise  of  the 
heather  to  come.  Isobel  carried  her  hat  in  her  hand. 
She  walked  with  her  head  thrown  back,  and  a  smile 
playing  every  now  and  then  upon  her  lips.  She  was 
so  completely  absorbed  that  I  found  myself  every 
now  and  then  watching  her,  half  expecting,  I  be- 
lieve, to  find  some  physical  change  to  accord  with 
that  other  more  mysterious  evolution.  She  walked 
with  all  the  grace  of  long  limbs  and  unfettered  cloth- 
ing. Her  figure,  though  perfectly  graceful,  and  with 
that  same  peculiar  distinction  which  had  first  attracted 
me,  was  as  yet  wholly  immature.  But  in  the  face  itself 
there  were  signs  of  a  coming  change.  Wherein  it- 
might  lie  I  could  not  tell,  but  it  was  there,  an  intan- 
gible and  wholly  elusive  thing.  I  think  that  a  certain 
fear  of  it  and  what  it  might  mean  oppressed  me  with 
the  sense  of  coming  trouble.  I  was  more  fully  con- 
scious then  than  ever  before  of  the  moral  responsi- 
bility of  our  peculiar  charge. 

We  crossed  a  straight  dusty  road,  cleaving  the 
rolling  moor  like  a  belt  of  ribbon.  Isobel  looked 
thoughtfully  along  it. 

"  I  wonder,"  she  said,  "  when  Arthur  will  come 
down!" 

The  folly  of  a  man  is  a  thing  sometimes  outside 
his  own  power  of  control.  A  second  before  I  had 
been  wondering  of  whom  and  what  she  had  been 
thinking. 

"  Not  just  yet,  I  'm  afraid,"  Allan  answered,  stop- 
ping to  light  his  pipe.  "  It  is  not  easy  for  him  to* 
get  backwards  and  forwards,  and  I  believe  that  he 
is  by  way  of  being  rather  busy  just  now." 


148  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

"What  a  nuisance!"  Isobel  declared,  looking  be- 
hind her  regretfully.  "  The  roads  about  here  seem 
so  good." 

"  The  roads  are  good,  but  the  heath  is  better/' 
Allan  answered.  "  I  will  race  you  for  half  a  pound 
•of  chocolates  to  that  clump  of  pines ! " 

"  You  are  such  a  slow  starter,"  she  laughed, 
bounding  away  before  he  had  time  to  drop  his  easel. 
"  Make  it  a  pound !  " 

I  picked  up  Allan's  easel  and  strolled  away  after 
them.  Was  it  the  motoring,  I  wondered,  which  had 
prompted  her  half-wistful  question,  or  had  I  been 
wise  too  late?  Arthur  had  been  very  confident.  So 
much  that  he  had  said  had  carried  with  it  a  certain 
ring  of  truth.  Youth  and  the  temperament  of  youth 
were  surely  irresistible.  Like  calls  to  like  across  the 
garden  of  spring  flowers  with  a  cry  which  no  inter- 
loper can  still,  no  wanderer  of  later  years  can  stifle. 
Somehow  it  seemed  to  me  just  then  that  the  sun  had 
ceased  to  shine,  and  a  touch  of  winter  after  all  was 
lingering  in  the  western  breeze  .  .  . 

They  disappeared  round  the  pine  plantation,  Isobel 
leading  by  a  few  yards,  her  skirts  blowing  in  the 
wind,  running  still  with  superb  and  untired  grace. 
I  climbed  a  bank  to  gain  a  better  view  of  the  finish, 
and  became  suddenly  aware  that  I  was  not  the  only 
interested  spectator  of  their  struggle.  About  a  hun- 
dred yards  to  my  left  a  man  was  standing  on  the  top 
of  the  same  bank,  a  pair  of  field-glasses  glued  to  his 
«yes,  watching  intently  the  spot  where  they  might  be 
expected  to  reappear.  The  sight  of  him  took  me  by 
.surprise.  A  few  moments  ago  I  could  have  sworn 
that  there  was  not  a  human  being  within  a  mile  of 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  149 

us.  There  was  only  one  explanation  of  his  appear- 
ance. He  must  have  been  concealed  in  the  dry  mossy 
ditch  at  the  foot  of  the  bank.  It  was  possible,  of 
course,  that  he  might  have  been  like  us,  a  casual  way- 
farer, and  yet  the  suddenness  of  his  appearance,  the 
intentness  of  his  watch,  both  had  their  effect  upon 
me.  I  moved  a  few  yards  towards  him,  with  what 
object  I  perhaps  scarcely  knew.  A  dry  twig  snapped 
beneath  my  feet.  He  became  suddenly  aware  of  my 
approach.  Then,  indeed,  my  suspicions  took  definite 
shape,  for  without  a  moment's  hesitation  the  man 
turned  and  strode  away  in  the  opposite  direction. 

I  shouted  to  him.  He  took  no  notice.  I  shouted 
again,  and  he  only  increased  his  pace.  I  watched 
him  disappear,  and  I  no  longer  had  any  doubts  at 
all.  He  was  not  in  the  least  like  a  tramp,  and  his 
flight  could  bear  but  one  interpretation.  Isobel  was 
not  safe  even  here.  We  had  been  followed  from 
London  —  we  were  being  watched  every  hour.  For 
the  first  time  I  began  seriously  to  doubt  what  the 
end  of  these  things  might  be. 


150  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 


ILENCE  and  perfume  and  moon-flooded 
meadows,"  Allan  murmured.  "  Arnold,  we 
shall  all  become  corrupted.  You  will  take  to  writing 
pastorals,  and  I  —  I  —  " 

Isobel,  from  her  seat  between  us,  smiled  up  at  him. 
Touched  by  the  yellow  moonlight,  her  face  seemed 
almost  ethereal. 

"  You,"  she  said,  "  should  paint  a  vision  of  the 
'  enchanted  land.'  You  see  those  blurred  woods,  and 
the  fields  sloping  up  to  the  mists  ?  Is  n't  that  a 
perfect  impression  of  the  world  unseen,  half  under- 
stood? Oh,  how  can  you  talk  of  such  a  place  cor- 
rupting anybody,  Allan ! " 

"  I  withdraw  the  term,"  he  answered.  "  Yet 
Arnold  knows  what  I  meant  very  well.  This  place 
soothes  while  the  city  frets.  Which  state  of  mind 
do  you  think,  Miss  Isobel,  draws  from  a  man  his  best 
work?" 

"  Don't  ask  me  enigmas,  Allan,"  she  murmured. 
"  I  am  too  happy  to  think,  too  happy  to  want  to  do 
anything  more  than  exist.  I  wish  we  lived  here 
always !  Why  did  n't  we  come  here  long  ago?  " 

"  You  forget  the  wonders  of  our  climate,"  I  re- 
marked. "  A  month  ago  you  might  have  stood  where 
you  are  now,  and  seen  nothing.  You  would  have 
shivered  with  the  cold.  The  field  scents,  the  birds, 
the  very  insects  were  unborn.  It  is  all  a  matter  of 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  151 

seasons.  What  to-day  is  beautiful  was  yesterday  a 
desert" 

She  shook  her  head  slowly.  Bareheaded,  she  was 
leaning  now  over  the  little  gate,  and  her  eyes  sought 
the  stars. 

"  I  will  not  believe  it,"  she  declared.  "  I  will  not 
believe  that  it  is  not  always  beautiful  here.  Arnold, 
Allan,  can  you  smell  the  honeysuckle  ?  " 

"  And  the  hay,"  Allan  answered,  smoking  vigor- 
ously. "  To-morrow  we  shall  be  sneezing  every  few 
minutes.  Have  you  ever  had  hay  fever,  Isobel  ?  " 

She  laughed  at  him  scornfully. 

"  You  poor  old  thing !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  You 
should  wear  a  hat." 

"  A  hat,"  Allan  protested,  "  is  of  no  avail  against 
hay  fever.  It 's  the  most  insidious  thing  in  the  world, 
and  is  no  respecter  of  youth.  You,  my  dear  Isobel, 
might  be  its  first  victim." 

"Pooh!  I  catch  nothing!"  she  declared,  "and 
you  must  n't  either.  I  'm  sure  you  ought  to  be  able 
to  paint  some  beautiful  pictures  down  here,  Allan. 
And,  Arnold,  you  shall  have  your  writing-table  out 
under  the  chestnut  tree  there.  You  will  be  so  com- 
fortable, and  I  'm  sure  you  '11  be  able  to  finish  your 
story  splendidly." 

"  You  are  very  anxious  to  dispose  of  us  all  here, 
Isobel,"  I  remarked.  "  What  do  you  propose  to  do 
yourself?  " 

"  Oh,  paint  a  little,  I  suppose,"  she  answered,  "  and 
—  think!  There  is  so  much  to  think  about  here." 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  I  am  beginning  to  wonder,"  I  said,  "  whether  we 
did  wisely  to  bring  you," 


152  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"And  why?" 

"  This  thinking  you  are  speaking  of.    It  is  bad !  " 

"  You  are  foolish !  .Why  should  I  not  want  to 
think?" 

"  If  you  begin  to  think  you  will  begin  to  doubt," 
I  answered,  "  and  if  you  begin  to  doubt  you  will 
begin  to  understand.  The  person  who  once  under- 
stands, you  know,  is  never  again  really  happy." 

Isobel  came  and  stood  in  front  of  me. 

"Arnold!"  she  said. 

"Well?" 

"  I  wish  you  would  n't  talk  to  me  always  as  though 
I  were  a  baby,"  she  said  thoughtfully. 

I  took  her  hand  and  made  her  sit  down  by  my 
side. 

"  Come,"  I  protested,  "  that  is  not  at  all  fair.  I 
can  assure  you  that  I  was  taking  you  most  seriously. 
The  people  who  get  most  out  of  life  are  the  people 
who  avoid  the  analytical  attitude,  who  enjoy  but  who 
do  not  seek  to  understand,  who  worship  form  and 
external  beauty  without  the  desire  to  penetrate  below 
to  understand  the  inner  meaning  of  what  they  find  so 
beautiful." 

"  That,"  she  said,  "  sounds  a  little  difficult.  But 
I  do  not  see  how  people  can  enjoy  meaningless 
things." 

"  The  source  of  all  beauty  is  disillusioning." 

"  Seriously,"  Mabane  interrupted,  "  if  this  con- 
versation develops  I  am  going  indoors.  Does  Arnold 
want  to  penetrate  into  the  hidden  meaning  of  that 
cricket's  chirp  —  or  is  he  going  to  give  us  the  chem- 
ical formula  for  the  smell  of  the  honeysuckle  ?  " 

Isobel  laughed. 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  153 

"He  is  rather  trying  to-night,  isn't  he?"  she 
declared.  "Listen!  Is  that  someone  going  by ?" 

The  footsteps  of  a  man  were  clearly  audible  pass- 
ing along  the  dusty  little  strip  of  road  which  fronted 
our  cottage.  Leaning  forward  I  saw  a  tall,  dark 
figure  pass  slowly  by.  From  his  height  and  upright 
carriage  I  thought  that  it  must  be  the  village  police- 
man, and  I  called  out  good-night.  My  greeting  met 
with  no  response.  I  shrugged  my  shoulders. 

"  Some  of  these  village  people  are  not  particularly 
civil !  "  I  remarked. 

Mabane  rose  to  his  feet  and  strolled  to  the 
hedge. 

"  Those  were  not  the  footsteps  of  a  villager,"  he 
remarked.  "  Listen !  " 

We  stood  quite  still.  The  footsteps  had  ceased, 
although  there  was  no  other  habitation  for  more 
than  half  a  mile  along  the  road.  We  could  see 
nothing,  but  I  noticed  that  Mabane  was  leaning  a  little 
forward  and  gazing  with  a  curious  intentness  at  the 
open  common  on  the  other  side  of  the  road.  He 
stood  up  presently  and  knocked  the  ashes  from  his 
pipe. 

"  What  do  you  say  to  a  drink,  Arnold?  "  he  sug- 
gested. 

"  Come  along !  "  I  answered.  "  There 's  some 
whisky  and  soda  on  the  sideboard." 

Isobel  laughed  at  us.  She  would  have  lingered 
where  she  was,  but  Allan  passed  his  arm  through 
hers. 

"  Sentiment  must  not  make  you  lazy,  Isobel,"  he 
declared.  "  I  decline  to  mix  my  own  whisky  and 
soda.  Arnold,"  he  whispered,  drawing  me  back  as 


154  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

she  stepped  past  us  through  the  wide-open  window, 
"  I  wonder  if  it  has  occurred  to  you  that  if  any  of  our 
friends  who  are  so  anxious  to  obtain  possession  of 
Isobel  were  to  attempt  a  coup  down  here,  we  should 
be  rather  in  a  mess.  We  're  a  mile  from  the  village, 
and  Lord  knows  how  many  from  a  police-station, 
and  there  is  n't  a  door  in  the  cottage  a  man  could  n't 
break  open  with  his  fist." 

"  What  made  you  think  of  it  —  just  now  ? "  I 
asked. 

"  Three  men  passed  by,  following  that  last  fellow 
—  on  the  edge  of  the  common.  I  've  got  eyes  like  a 
cat  in  the  dark,  you  know,  and  I  could  see  that  they 
were  trying  to  get  by  unnoticed.  Of  course,  there 
may  be  nothing  in  it,  but  —  thanks,  Isobel !  By  Jove, 
that 's  good !  " 

I  slipped  upstairs  to  my  room,  and  on  my  return 
handed  Allan  something  which  he  thrust  quietly  into 
his  pocket.  Then  we  went  out  again  into  the  garden. 
I  drew  Mabane  on  one  side  for  a  moment. 

"  I  don't  think  there 's  anything  in  it,  Allan,"  I 
whispered.  "  It  would  be  too  clumsy  for  any  of  our 
friends  —  and  too  risky." 

"  It  need  n't  be  either,"  Allan  answered,  "  but  I 
daresay  you  're  right." 

Then  we  hastened  once  more  to  the  front  gate, 
summoned  there  by  Isobel's  cry. 

"  Listen !  "  she  exclaimed,  holding  up  her  hand. 

We  stood  by  her  side.  From  somewhere  out  of 
the  night  there  came  to  our  ears  the  faint  distant 
throbbing  of  an  engine.  Neither  Allan  nor  I  realized 
what  it  was,  but  Isobel,  who  had  stepped  out  on  to 
the  road,  knew  at  once. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  355 

"  Look !  "  she  cried  suddenly. 

We  followed  her  outstretched  finger.  Far  away 
on  the  top  of  a  distant  hill,  but  moving  towards  us 
all  the  time  with  marvellous  swiftness,  we  saw  a 
small  but  brilliant  light. 

"  A  motor  bicycle !  "  she  cried.  "  I  believe  it  is 
Arthur.  It  sounds  just  like  his  machine." 

Arthur  it  was,  white  with  dust  and  breathless. 
His  first  greeting  was  for  Isobel,  who  welcomed  him 
with  both  hands  outstretched  and  a  delight  which 
she  made  no  effort  to  conceal,  overwhelming  him 
with  questions,  frankly  joyful  at  his  coming.  Mabane 
and  I  stood  silent  in  the  background,  and  we  avoided 
each  other's  eyes.  It  was  at  that  moment,  perhaps, 
that  I  for  the  first  time  realized  the  tragedy  into 
which  we  were  slowly  drifting.  Isobel  had  forgotten 
us.  She  was  wholly  absorbed  in  her  joy  at  Arthur's 
unexpected  appearance.  The  thing  which  in  my 
quieter  moments  had  begun  already  vaguely  to  trouble 
me  —  a  thing  of  slow  and  painful  growth  —  assumed 
for  the  first  time  a  certain  definiteness.  I  looked  a 
little  way  into  the  future,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that 
there  were  evil  times  coming. 

Arthur  approached  us  presently  with  outstretched 
hand.  His  manner  was  half  apologetic,  half  tri- 
umphant. He  seemed  to  be  saying  to  himself  that 
Isobel' s  reception  of  him  must  surely  have  opened 
our  eyes. 

"  Your  coming,  I  suppose,  Arthur,"  Mabane  said 
quietly,  "  signifies " 

"  That  I  accept  your  terms  for  the  present,"  Arthur 
answered,  in  a  low  tone.  "  I  had  to  see  you.  There 
are  strangers  continually  watching  our  diggings, 


156  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

and  making  inquiries  about  Isobel.  There  are  things 
happening  which  I  cannot  understand  at  all." 

I  glanced  towards  Isobel. 

"  We  will  talk  about  it  after  she  has  gone  to  bed," 
I  said.  "  Come  in  and  have  some  supper  now." 

He  drew  me  a  little  on  one  side. 

"  You  remember  the  chap  who  was  with  the  Arch- 
duchess at  the  Mordaunt  Rooms?" 

"Yes!" 

"  He  was  at  the  hotel  in  Guildford  when  I  stopped 
for  tea,  with  two  other  men.  They  're  in  a  great 
Daimter  car,  and  they  're  coming  this  way.  I  heard 
them  ask  about  the  roads." 

"  How  far  were  they  behind  you  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  They  must  be  close  up,"  he  answered.    "  Listen !  " 

"Another  motor!"  Isobel  cried  suddenly.  "Can 
you  not  hear  it  ?  " 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  sound,  the  deep, 
low  throbbing  of  a  powerful  engine  as  yet  some 
distance  away.  I  was  conscious  of  a  curious  sense 
of  uneasiness. 

"  Isobel,"  I  said,  "would  you  mind  going  indoors !" 

"  Indoors  indeed !  "  she  laughed.  "  But  no.  I  must 
see  this  motor-car." 

I  stepped  quickly  up  to  her,  and  laid  my  hand  upon 
her  arm. 

"  Isobel,"  I  said  earnestly,  "  you  do  not  under- 
stand. I  do  not  wish  to  frighten  you,  but  I  am 
afraid  that  the  men  in  this  car  are  coming  here,  and 
it  is  better  that  you  should  be  out  of  the  way.  They 
want  to  take  you  from  us.  Go  inside  and  lock  your- 
self in  your  room." 

She  looked  at  me  half  puzzled,  half  resentful.    The 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  157 

car  was  close  at  hand  now.  We  ourselves  were 
almost  in  the  path  of  its  flaring  searchlights. 

"  Arnold,  you  are  joking,  of  course ! "  she  ex- 
claimed. "  They  cannot  take  me  away.  I  would 
not  go." 

The  car  had  stopped.  It  contained  four  men,  one 
of  whom  at  once  alighted  and  advanced  towards  us. 
I  knew  him  by  his  voice  and  figure.  It  was  the  Baron 
von  Leibingen! 


158  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 


'CHAPTER   VII 

I  MADE  no  movement  towards  opening  the  gate. 
The  newcomer  advanced  to  within  a  few  feet  of 
me,  and  then  paused.  He  leaned  a  little  forward.  He 
was  doubtful,  as  I  could  see,  of  my  identity. 

"  Can  you  tell  me,"  he  asked,  raising  his  hat,  "  if 
this  is  Roseleys  Cottage,  the  residence  of  Mr.  Arnold 
Greatson  ?  " 

"  Do  you  forget  all  your  acquaintances  so  quickly, 
Baron  ?  "  I  answered.  "  This  is  Roseleys,  and  I  am 
Arnold  Greatson ! " 

"  Your  voice,"  he  declared,  "  is  sufficient.  I  can 
assure  you  that  it  is  a  matter  of  eyesight,  not  of 
memory.  In  the  dark  I  am  always  as  blind  as  a 
bat." 

"  It  is,"  I  remarked,  "  a  very  common  happening. 
You  are  motoring,  I  see.  You  have  chosen  a  very 
delightful  night,  but  are  you  not  —  pardon  me  —  a 
little  off  the  track?  You  are  on  your  way  to  the 
South  Coast,  I  presume  ?  " 

"  On  the  contrary,"  the  Baron  answered,  "  our 
destination  is  here.  Will  you  permit  me  to  apolo- 
gise for  the  lateness  of  my  visit?  We  were  unfor- 
tunately delayed  for  several  hours  by  a  mishap  to 
our  automobile,  or  I  should  have  had  the  honour  of 
presenting  myself  during  the  afternoon." 

I  did  not  offer  to  move. 


THE  MASTER   MUMMER  159 

"  Perhaps,"  I  said,  "  as  it  is  certainly  very  late, 
and  we  were  on  the  point  of  retiring,  you  will  per- 
mit me  to  inquire  at  once  into  the  nature  of  the 
business  which  procures  for  me  the  honour  of  this 
visit." 

My  visitor  paused.  His  hand  was  upon  the  gate. 
So  was  mine,  keeping  it  all  the  time  fast  closed. 

"You  will  permit  me?"  he  said,  making  an  at- 
tempt to  enter. 

"  I  regret,"  I  answered,  "  that  at  this  late  hour 
I  am  not  prepared  to  offer  you  any  hospitality.  If 
you  will  come  and  see  me  to-morrow  morning  I  shall 
be  happy  to  hear  what  you  have  to  say." 

My  visitor  did  not  remove  his  hand  from  the 
gate.  It  seemed  to  me  that  his  tone  became  more 
belligerent. 

"  You  are  discomposed  to  see  us,  Mr.  Greatson," 
he  said,  "  me  and  my  friends.  As  you  see,"  he 
added,  with  a  little  wave  of  his  hand,  "  I  am  not 
alone.  I  have  only  to  regret  that  you  have  made- 
this  visit  necessary.  We  have  come  to  induce  you, 
if  possible,  to  change  your  mind,  and  to  give  up  the 
young  lady  in  whom  the  Archduchess  has  been 
graciously  pleased  to  interest  herself  to  those  who 
have  a  better  claim  upon  her." 

"  It  is  not  a  matter,"  I  answered,  "  which  I  am 
prepared  to  discuss  at  this  hour  —  or  with  you ! " 

"  As  to  that,"  the  young  man  answered,  "  I  am 
the  envoy  of  her  Royal  Highness,  as  I  can  speedily 
convince  you  if  you  will." 

"  It  is  unnecessary,"  I  answered.  "  The  Arch- 
duchess has  already  had  my  answer.  .Will  you  allow 
me  to  wish  you  good-night  ?  " 


160  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  I  wish,  Mr.  Greatson,"  the  young  man  said,  "  that 
you  would  discuss  this  matter  with  me  in  a  reasonable 
spirit." 

"  At  a  reasonable  hour,"  I  answered,  "  I  might 
be  prepared  to  do  so.  But  certainly  not  now." 

It  seemed  to  me  that  his  hand  upon  the  gate 
tightened.  He  certainly  showed  no  signs  of  accept- 
ing the  dismissal  which  I  was  trying  to  force  upon 
him. 

"  I  have  endeavoured  to  explain  my  late  arrival," 
he  said.  "  You  must  not  believe  me  guilty  of  wilful 
discourtesy.  As  for  the  rest,  Mr.  Greatson,  what  does 
it  matter  whether  the  hour  is  late  or  early?  The 
matter  is  an  important  one.  Between  ourselves,  her 
Highness  has  made  up  her  mind  to  undertake  the 
charge  of  the  young  lady,  and  I  may  tell  you  that 
-when  her  Highness  has  made  up  her  mind  to  any- 
thing she  is  not  one  to  be  disappointed." 

"  In  her  own  country,"  I  said,  "  the  will  of  the 
Archduchess  is  doubtless  paramount.  Out  here,  how- 
ever, she  must  take  her  chance  amongst  the  others." 

"  But  you  have  no  claim  —  no  shadow  of  a  claim 
Upon  the  child,"  the  Baron  declared. 

"If  the  Archduchess  thinks  she  has  a  better,"  I 
answered,  "  the  law  courts  are  open  to  her." 

My  visitor  was  apparently  becoming  annoyed. 
There  were  traces  of  irritation  in  his  tone. 

"  Do  you  imagine,  my  dear  Mr.  Greatson,"  he 
said,  "  that  her  Highness  can  possibly  desire  to  bring 
before  the  notice  of  the  world  the  peccadiloes  of  her 
illustrious  relative?  No,  the  law  courts  are  not  to 
be  thought  of.  We  rely  upon  your  good  sense!" 

"And  failing  that?" 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  161 

The  Baron  hesitated.  It  seemed  to  me  that  he  was 
peering  into  the  shadows  beyond  the  hedge. 

"  The  position,"  he  murmured,  "  is  a  singular  one. 
iWhere  neither  side  for  different  reasons  is  disposed 
to  submit  its  case  to  the  courts,  then  it  must  be 
admitted  that  possession  becomes  a  very  important 
feature  in  the  case." 

"  That,"  I  remarked,  "  is  entirely  my  view.  May 
I  take  the  liberty,  Baron  von  Leibingen,  of  wishing 
you  good-night?  I  see  no  advantage  in  continuing" 
this  discussion." 

"  Possession  for  the  moment,"  he  said  slowly,  "  is 
with  you.  Have  you  reflected,  Mr.  Greatson,  that  it 
may  not  always  be  so  ?  " 

"  Will  you  favour  me,"  I  said,  "  by  becoming  a 
little  more  explicit?" 

"  With  pleasure,"  the  Baron  answered  quickly.  "  I 
have  three  friends  here  with  me,  and  we  are  all  armed. 
Your  cottage  is  surrounded  by  half  a  dozen  more  — 
friends  —  who  are  also  armed.  We  are  here  to  take 
Isobel  de  Sorrens  back  with  us,  and  we  mean  to  do- 
it. On  my  honour,  Mr.  Greatson,  no  harm  is  in- 
tended to  her.  She  will  be  as  safe  with  the  Arch- 
duchess as  with  her  own  mother." 

"If  you  don't  take  your  hand  off  my  gate  in  two 
seconds,"  I  said,  "  you  will  regret  it  all  your  life." 

He  sprang  forward,  but  I  fired  over  his  shoulder, 
and  with  an  oath  he  backed  into  the  road.  Isobel 
meanwhile,  now  thoroughly  alarmed,  turned  and  ran 
towards  the  house,  only  to  find  the  path  already 
blocked  by  two  men,  who  had  stepped  silently  out 
from  the  low  hedge  which  separated  the  garden  from 

the  fields  beyond.     Allan  promptly  knocked  one  of 

ii 


h62  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

them  down,  only  to  find  himself  struggling  with  the 
other.  Isobel,  whose  skirts  were  caught  by  the  fallen 
man,  tried  in  vain  to  release  herself.  I  dared  scarcely 
turn  my  head,  for  my  levelled  revolver  was  keeping 
in  check  the  Baron  and  his  three  friends. 

"  Baron,"  I  said,  "  your  methods  savour  a  little 
too  much  of  comic  opera.  You  have  mistaken  your 
country  and  —  us.  There  are  three  of  us,  and  if  you 
force  us  to  fight  —  well,  we  shall  fight.  The  advan- 
tage of  numbers  is  with  you,  I  admit.  For  the  rest, 
if  you  succeed  to-night  you  will  be  in  the  police  court 
to-morrow." 

The  Baron  made  no  answer.  I  felt  that  he  was 
watching  the  struggle  which  was  going  on  behind 
my  back.  I  heard  Isobel  shriek,  and  the  sound  mad- 
dened me.  I  left  it  to  the  Baron  to  do  his  worst.  I 
sprang  backwards,  and  brought  the  butt  end  of  my 
revolver  down  upon  the  skull  of  the  man  who  was 
dragging  her  across  the  lawn.  Then  I  passed  my 
arm  round  her  waist,  and  called  out  once  more  to 
the  Baron  who  had  passed  through  the  gate,  and  was 
coming  rapidly  towards  us. 

"  You  fool !  "  I  cried.  "  Unless  you  call  off  your 
hired  gang  and  leave  this  place  at  once,  every  news- 
paper in  London  shall  advertise  Isobel' s  name  and 
presence  here  to-morrow." 

It  was  a  chance  shot,  but  it  went  home.  I  saw  him 
stop  short,  and  I  heard  his  little  broken  exclamation. 

"  But  you  do  not  know  who  she  is?  "  he  cried. 

"  I  know  very  well  indeed,"  I  answered. 

Just  then  Mabane  broke  loose  from  the  man 
with  whom  he  had  been  struggling,  and  rushed  to 
Arthur's  assistance.  The  Baron  raised  his  hand  and 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  163 

shouted  something1  in  German.  Instantly  our  assail- 
ants seemed  to  melt  away.  The  Baron  stepped  on 
to  the  strip  of  lawn  and  raised  his  hand. 

"  I  call  a  truce,  Mr.  Greatson,"  he  said.  "  I  de- 
sire to  speak  with  you." 

I  released  my  hold  upon  Isobel  and  turned  to 
Mabane.  Arthur  too,  breathless  but  unhurt,  had 
struggled  to  his  feet. 

"  Take  her  into  the  house,"  I  said  quickly.  But 
her  grasp  only  tightened  upon  my  arm. 

"  I  will  not  leave  you,  Arnold,"  she  said.  "  I  shall 
stay  here.  They  will  not  dare  to  touch  me." 

I  tried  to  disengage  her  arm,  but  she  was  per- 
sistent. She  took  no  notice  of  Allan,  who  tried  to 
lead  her  away.  I  stole  a  glance  at  her  through  the 
darkness.  Her  face  was  white,  but  there  were  no 
signs  of  fear  there,  nor  were  there  any  signs  of 
childishness  in  her  manner  or  bearing.  She  carried 
herself  like  an  angry  young  princess,  and  her  eyes 
seemed  lit  with  smouldering  fire,  as  clinging  to  my 
arm  she  leaned  a  little  forwards  toward  the  Baron. 

"  Why  am  I  spoken  of,"  she  cried  passionately, 
"  as  though  I  were  a  baby,  a  thing  of  no  account, 
to  be  carried  away  to  your  mistress  or  disposed  of 
according  to  your  liking?  Do  you  think  that  I  would 
come,  Baron  von  Leibingen " 

She  broke  off  suddenly.  She  leaned  a  little  further 
forward.  Her  lips  were  parted.  The  fire  in  her  eyes 
had  given  way  to  a  great  wonder,  and  the  breathless- 
ness  of  her  silence  was  like  a  thing  to  be  felt  It  held 
us  all  dumb.  We  waited  —  we  scarcely  knew  for 
what.  Only  we  knew  that  she  had  something  more 
to  say,  and  we  were  impelled  to  wait  for  her  words. 


164  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  I  have  seen  you  before,"  she  cried,  with  a  strange 
note  of  wonder  in  her  tone.  "  Your  face  comes  back 
to  me  —  only  it  was  a  long  time  ago  —  a  long,  long 
time!  Where  was  it,  Baron  von  Leibingen?" 

I  heard  his  smothered  exclamation.  He  drew! 
quickly  a  step  backwards  as  though  he  sought  to 
evade  her  searching  gaze. 

"  You  are  mistaken,  young  lady,"  he  said.  "  I 
know  nothing  of  you  beyond  the  fact  that  the  lady 
whom  I  have  the  honour  to  serve  desires  to  be  your 
friend." 

"  It  is  not  true,"  she  answered.  "  I  remember  you 
—  a  long  way  back  —  and  the  memory  comes  to  me 
like  an  evil  thought.  I  will  not  come  to  you.  You 
may  kill  me,  but  I  will  not  come  alive." 

"  Indeed  you  are  mistaken,"  he  persisted,  though 
he  sought  still  the  shadow  of  a  rhododendron  bush, 
and  his  voice  quivered  with  nervous  anxiety.  "  You 
have  never  seen  me  before.  Surely  the  Archduchess, 
the  daughter  of  a  King,  is  not  one  whose  proffered 
kindness  it  is  well  to  slight?  Think  again,  young 
lady.  Her  Highness  will  make  your  future  her 
special  charge ! " 

"  If  your  visit  to-night,  sir,"  she  answered,  "  is 
a  mark  of  the  Archduchess's  good-will  to  me,  I 
can  well  dispense  with  it.  I  have  given  you  my 
answer." 

"  You  will  remember,  Baron,"  I  said,  speaking  at 
random,  but  gravely,  and  as  though  some  special 
meaning  lurked  in  my  words,  "  that  this  young  lady 
comes  of  a  race  who  do  not  readily  change.  She  has 
made  her  choice,  and  her  answer  to  you  is  my  an- 
swer. She  will  remain  with  us ! " 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  165 

The  Baron  stepped  out  again  into  the  rich-scented 
twilight. 

"  You  hold  strong  cards,  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson," 
he  said,  "  but  I  see  their  backs  only.  How  do  I  know 
that  you  speak  the  truth?  From  whom  have  you 
learnt  the  story  of  this  young  lady's  antecedents  ?  " 

"  From  Mr.  Grooten,"  I  answered  boldly. 

"  I  do  not  know  the  name,"  the  Baron  protested. 

"  He  is  the  man,"  I  said,  "  who  set  Isobel  free! " 

The  Baron  said  something  to  himself  in  German, 
which  I  did  not  understand. 

"  You  mean  the  man  who  shot  Major  Delahaye?  " 
he  asked. 

"I  do!" 

"  Then  I  would  to  Heaven  I  knew  whose  identity 
that  name  conceals,"  he  cried  fiercely. 

"  You  would  not  dare  to  publish  it,"  I  answered, 
"  for  to  do  so  would  be  to  give  Isobel's  story  to  the 
world." 

"  And  why  should  I  shrink  from  that?  "  he  asked. 

I  laughed. 

"  Ask  your  august  mistress,"  I  declared.  "  It 
seems  to  me  that  we  know  more  than  you  think." 

The  Baron  looked  over  his  shoulder  and  spoke  to 
his  companions.  From  that  moment  I  knew  that  we 
had  conquered.  One  of  them  left  and  went  outside 
to  where  the  motor-car,  with  its  great  flaring  lights, 
still  stood.  Then  the  Baron  faced  me  once  more. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  he  said,  "  you  are  playing  a  game 
of  your  own,  and  for  the  moment  I  must  admit  that 
you  hold  the  tricks  against  me.  But  it  is  well  that 
I  should  give  you  once  more  this  warning.  If  you 
should  decide  upon  taking  one  false  step  —  you  per- 


166  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

haps  know  very  well  what  I  mean  —  things  will  go 
ill  with  you  —  very  ill  indeed." 

Then  he  turned  away,  and  our  little  garden  was 
freed  from  the  presence  of  all  of  them.  We  heard 
the  starting  of  the  car.  Presently  it  glided  away. 
We  listened  to  its  throbbing  growing  fainter  and 
fainter  in  the  distance.  Then  there  was  silence.  A 
faint  breeze  had  sprung  up,  and  was  rustling  in  the 
shrubs.  From  somewhere  across  the  moor  we  heard 
the  melancholy  cry  of  the  corncrakes.  A  great  sob 
of  relief  broke  from  Isobel's  throat  —  then  suddenly 
her  arm  grew  heavy  upon  mine.  We  hurried  her 
into  the  house. 


(THE   MASTER   MUMMER  167 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  perfume  from  a  drooping  lilac-bush  a  few 
feet  away  from  the  open  casement  was  mingled 
with  the  fainter  odour  of  jessamine  and  homely 
stocks.  In  the  soft  morning  sunshine  the  terrors  of 
last  night  seemed  a  thing  far  removed  from  us.  We 
sat  at  breakfast  in  our  little  sitting-room,  and  as 
though  by  common  though  unspoken  consent  we 
treated  the  whole  affair  as  a  gigantic  joke.  We 
ignored  its  darker  aspect.  We  spoke  of  it  as  an 
"  opera-bouffe  "  attempt  never  likely  to  be  repeated 
—  the  hare-brained  scheme  of  a  mad  foreigner,  over 
anxious  to  earn  the  favour  of  his  mistress.  But 
beneath  all  our  light  talk  was  an  undernote  of  serious- 
ness. I  think  that  Mabane  and  I,  at  any  rate,  realized 
perhaps  for  the  first  time  that  the  situation,  so  far  as 
Isobel  was  concerned,  was  fast  becoming  an  impossible 
one. 

After  breakfast  we  all  strolled  out  into  the  garden. 
Isobel,  with  her  hands  full  of  flowers,  flitted  in  and 
out  amongst  the  rose-bushes,  laughing  and  talking 
with  all  the  invincible  gaiety  of  light-hearted  youth, 
and  Arthur  hung  all  the  while  about  her,  his  eyes  fol- 
lowing her  every  movement,  telling  her  all  the  while 
by  every  action  and  look  —  if  indeed  the  time  had 
come  for  her  to  discern  such  things  —  all  that  our 


168  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

compact  forbade  him  to  utter.  Presently  I  slipped 
away,  and  shutting  myself  up  in  the  tiny  room  where 
I  worked,  drew  out  my  papers.  In  a  few  minutes  I 
had  made  a  start.  I  passed  with  a  little  unconscious 
sigh  of  relief  into  the  detachment  which  was  fast 
becoming  the  one  luxury  of  my  life. 

An  hour  may  have  passed,  perhaps  more,  when  I 
was  interrupted.  I  heard  the  door  softly  opened,  and 
light  footsteps  crossed  the  room  to  my  side.  Isobel's 
hand  rested  on  my  shoulder,  and  she  looked  down  at 
my  work. 

"  Arnold,"  she  exclaimed,  "  how  dare  you !  You 
promised  to  read  your  story  when  you  had  finished 
six  chapters,  and  you  are  working  on  chapter  twenty 
now!" 

Her  long  white  forefinger  pointed  accusingly  to 
the  heading  of  my  last  page.  Then  I  realized  with  a 
sudden  flash  of  apprehension  why  I  had  not  kept  my 
promise  —  why  I  could  never  keep  it.  The  story 
which  flowed  so  smoothly  from  my  pen  was  a  record 
of  my  own  emotions,  my  own  sufferings.  Even  her 
name  had  usurped  the  name  of  my  heroine,  and  stared 
up  at  me  from  the  half-finished  page.  It  was  my  own 
story  which  was  written  there,  my  own  unhappiness 
which  throbbed  through  every  word  and  sentence. 
With  a  little  nervous  gesture  I  covered  over  the  open 
sheets.  I  rose  hastily  to  my  feet,  and  I  drew  her 
away  from  the  table. 

"  Another  time,  Isobel,"  I  said.  "  It  is  too  glorious 
a  day  to  spend  indoors,  and  Arthur  has  taken  holiday 
too.  Tell  me,  what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

She  looked  at  me  a  little  doubtfully.  I  had  grown 
into  the  habit  of  consulting  her  about  my  work,  of 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  169 

reading  most  of  it  to  her.  Sometimes,  too,  she  acted 
as  my  secretary.  Perhaps  she  saw  something  of 
the  trouble  in  my  face,  for  she  answered  me  very 
softly. 

"  I  should  like,"  she  said,  "  to  sit  there  before  the 
open  window  on  a  cushion,  and  to  have  you  sit  down 
in  that  easy-chair  and  read  to  me.  That  is  how  I 
choose  to  spend  the  morning !  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  How  about  the  others  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  Oh,  Arthur  and  Allan  can  go  for  a  walk ! "  she 
declared. 

"  What  selfishness,"  I  answered,  as  lightly  as  I 
could.  "  Arthur  must  go  back  to  town  to-night,  he 
says.  I  think  that  we  ought  all  to  spend  the  day 
together,  don't  you?  I  rather  thought  that  you 
young  people  would  have  been  off  somewhere  directly; 
after  breakfast." 

She  looked  at  me  earnestly. 

"  Of  course,"  she  said,  "  if  you  want  to  be  left 
alone " 

"  But  I  don't,"  I  interrupted,  reaching  for  my  hats 
"  I  want  to  come  too." 

"  You  nice  old  thing!  "  she  exclaimed,  passing  her 
arm  through  mine.  "  We  '11  walk  to  Heather  Hill. 
Arthur  says  that  we  can  see  the  sea  from  there. 
Come  along ! " 

So  we  started  away,  the  four  of  us  together.  Pres- 
ently, however,  Arthur  and  Isobel  drew  away  in 
front.  Allan,  with  a  little  grunt,  stopped  to  light  his 
pipe. 

"  Arthur  may  keep  his  compact  in  the  letter,"  he 
said,  "  but  in  the  spirit  he  breaks  it  every  time  their 


1 70  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

eyes  meet.  You  can't  blame  him.  It 's  human  nature, 
after  all  —  the  gravitation  of  youth.  Arnold,  I  'm 
afraid  you  awoke  to  your  responsibilities  too  late." 

"  You  think  —  that  she  understands  ?  "  I  asked 
quietly. 

"  Why  not?  She  is  almost  a  woman,  and  she  is 
older  than  her  years.  Look  at  them  now.  He  wants 
to  talk  seriously,  and  she  is  teasing  him  all  the  time. 
She  has  the  instinct  of  her  sex.  She  will  conceal 
what  she  feels  until  the  —  psychological  moment. 
But  she  does  feel  —  she  begins  to  understand.  I  am 
sure  of  it.  Watch  them !  " 

We  kept  silence  for  a  while,  I  myself  struggling 
with  a  sickening  sense  of  despair  against  this  new- 
born and  most  colossal  folly.  I  think  that  I  was 
always  possessed  of  an  average  amount  of  self-control, 
but  my  great  fear  now  was  lest  my  secret  should  in 
any  way  escape  me.  Mabane's  words  had  carried 
conviction  with  them.  Life  itself  for  these  few 
deadly  minutes  seemed  changed.  The  birds  had 
ceased  to  sing,  and  the  warmth  of  the  sunshine  had 
faded  out  of  the  fluttering  east  wind.  I  saw  no 
longer  the  heath  starred  with  yellow  and  purple 
blooms,  the  distant  line  of  blue  hills.  The  turf  was 
no  longer  springy  beneath  my  feet,  a  grey  mist  hung 
over  the  joyous  summer  morning.  I  was  back  again 
on  my  way  from  Bow  Street,  threading  a  difficult 
passage  through  the  market  baskets  of  Covent  Gar- 
den, the  child  stepping  blithely  by  my  side,  graceful 
even  then,  notwithstanding  her  immatureness,  and 
quaintly  attractive,  though  her  deep  blue  eyes  were 
full  of  tears,  and  the  white  terror  had  not  passed 
wholly  from  her  face.  It  was  those  few  moments 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  171 

of  her  complete  and  trustful  helplessness  which  had 
transformed  my  life  for  me,  those  few  moments  in 
which  the  huge  folly  of  these  later  days  had  been 
born.  For  her  very  coming  seemed  to  have  been  at 
a  chosen  time  —  at  one  of  those  periods  of  weariness 
which  a  man  must  feel  whose  sympathy  with  and 
desire  for  life  leads  him  into  many  and  devious  forms 
of  distraction,  only  to  find  in  time  the  same  dregs  at 
the  bottom  of  the  cup.  The  joy  of  her  fresh  childish 
beauty,  her  pure  sweet  trustfulness,  at  all  times  a 
delicate  flattery  to  any  man,  just  the  more  so  to  me, 
a  little  inclined  towards  self-distrust,  was  like  a  fra- 
grant, a  heart-stirring  memory  even  now.  I  looked 
back  upon  these  years  which  lay  between  her  youth 
and  my  fast  approaching  middle-age  —  grey,  weary 
years,  whose  follies  seemed  now  to  rise  up  and  stalk 
by  my  side,  the  ghosts  of  misspent  days,  ghosts  of 
the  sickly  reasonings  of  a  sham  philosophy  which 
lead  into  the  broad  way  because  its  thoroughfares 
are  easy  and  pleasant,  and  pressed  by  the  feet  of  the 
great  majority.  I  kept  my  eyes  fixed  upon  the  ground 
and  I  felt  that  strange  thrill  of  despair  pulling  at  my 
heartstrings,  dragging  me  downwards  —  the  despair 
which  is  almost  akin  to  physical  suffering  .  .  .  And 
then  a  voice  came  floating  back  to  me  down  the  west 
wind.  Its  call  at  such  a  moment  seemed  almost 
symbolical. 

"  Come  along,  you  very  lazy  people !  Arnold,  may 
I  walk  with  you  for  a  little  way  ?  Arthur  is  not  at  all 
brilliant  this  morning,  and  he  does  not  amuse  me." 

"  I  am  afraid,"  I  began,  "  that  as  an  enter- 
tainer   " 

"  Oh,  you  want  to  smoke  your  pipe  in  peace,  o£ 


i;2  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

course,"  she  interrupted,  laughing,  and  passing  her 
arm  through  mine.  "  Well,  I  am  not  going  to  allow 
it.  I  want  you  —  to  tell  me  things." 

So  our  little  procession  was  re-formed.  Mabane, 
and  Arthur  with  his  hands  deep  in  his  pockets  and 
an  angry  frown  upon  his  forehead,  walked  on  ahead. 
Behind  came  Isobel  and  I  —  Isobel  with  her  hands 
clasped  behind  her,  her  head  a  little  thrown  back,  a 
faint,  wistful  smile  lightening  the  unusual  gravity 
of  her  face.  I  looked  at  her  in  wonder. 

"  Come,"  I  said,  "  what  are  the  things  you  want 
me  to  talk  to  you  about,  and  why  are  you  tired  of 
talking  nonsense  with  Arthur?" 

She  did  not  look  at  me,  but  the  smile  faded  from 
her  lips.  Her  eyes  were  still  fixed  steadily  ahead. 

"  I  believe  you  think,  Arnold,"  she  said  quietly, 
"  that  I  am  still  a  baby !  " 

I  saw  her  lips  quiver  for  a  moment,  and  my  selfish- 
ness melted  away.  I  thought  only  of  her. 

"  No,  I  do  not  think  that,  Isobel,"  I  said  gently. 
"  Only  if  I  were  you  I  would  not  be  in  too  great  a 
hurry  to  grow  up.  It  is  when  one  is  young,  after 
all,  that  one  walks  in  the  gardens  of  life.  After- 
wards —  when  one  has  passed  through  the  portals  — 
outside  the  roads  are  dusty,  and  the  way  a  little 
wearisome.  Stay  in  the  gardens,  Isobel,  as  long  as 
you  can.  Believe  me,  that  life  outside  has  many  dis- 
appointments and  many  sorrows.  Your  time  will 
come  soon  enough." 

She  smiled  at  me  a  little  enigmatically. 

"  And  you  ?  "  she  asked,  "  have  you  closed  the 
gates  of  the  garden  behind  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  nearer  forty  than  thirty,"  I  answered.    "  I 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  173 

have  grey  hairs,  and  I  am  getting  a  little  bald.  I 
may  still  be  of  some  use  in  the  world,  and  there  are 
very  beautiful  places  where  I  may  rest,  and  even  find 
happiness.  But  they  are  not  like  the  gardens  of 
youth.  There  is  no  other  place  like  them.  All  of 
us  who  have  hurried  so  eagerly  away,  Isobel,  look 
back  sometimes  —  and  long!" 

She  shook  her  head.  Perhaps  a  little  of  the  sad- 
ness of  my  mood  had  after  all  found  its  way  into 
my  tone,  for  she  looked  at  me  with  the  shadow  of  a 
reproach  in  her  deep  blue  eyes,  a  faint  tenderness 
which  seemed  to  me  more  beautiful  than  anything- 
I  had  ever  seen. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  I  like  your  allegory,  Arnold," 
she  said.  "  After  all,  the  gardens  are  the  nursery  of 
life,  are  they  not?  The  great  things  of  the  world  are 
all  outside." 

I  held  my  breath  for  a  moment  in  amazement. 
Since  when  had  thoughts  like  this  come  to  her?  I 
knew  then  that  the  days  of  her  childhood  were  num- 
bered indeed,  that,  underneath  the  fresh  joyous  grace 
of  her  delightful  youth,  the  woman's  instincts  were 
stirring.  And  I  was  afraid! 

"  The  great  things,  Isobel,"  I  said  slowly,  "  look 
very  fine  from  a  distance,  but  the  power  of  accom- 
plishment is  not  given  to  all  of  us.  Every  triumph 
and  every  success  has  its  reverse  side,  its  sorrowful 
side.  For  instance,  the  whole  judgment  of  the  world 
is  by  comparison.  A  great  picture  which  brings  fame 
to  a  man  eclipses  the  work  and  lessens  the  reputation 
of  another.  A  successful  book  takes  not  a  place  of 
its  own,  but  the  place  of  another  man's  work  who 
must  needs  suffer  for  your  success.  Life  is  a  battle 


174  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

truly  enough,  but  it  is  always  civil  war,  the  striving 
of  humanity  against  itself.  That  is  why  what  looks 
so  great  to  you  from  behind  the  hedge  may  seem  a 
very  hollow  thing  when  you  have  won  the  power  to 
call  it  your  own." 

She  looked  at  me  as  though  wondering  how  far  I 
were  in  earnest. 

"  I  think,"  she  said,  smiling,  "  that  you  are  trying 
to  confuse  me.  Of  course,  I  have  not  thought  much 
about  such  things,  but  when  I  am  a  little  older,  if 
there  was  anything  I  could  do  I  should  simply  try  to 
do  it  in  the  best  possible  way,  and  I  should  feel  that 
I  was  doing  what  was  right.  There  is  room  for  a 
great  many  people  in  the  world,  Arnold  —  a  great 
many  novelists  and  a  great  many  artists  and  a  great 
many  thinkers!  Some  of  us  must  be  content  with 
lesser  places.  I  for  one!  .  .  ." 

I  walked  home  with  Allan,  and  I  spoke  to  him 
seriously. 

"  There  is  a  duty  before  us,"  I  said,  "  which  up  to 
now  we  have  shirked.  The  time  has  come  when  we 
must  undertake  it  in  earnest." 

"You  mean?" 

"  We  must  abandon  our  negative  attitude.  Isobel 
comes,  I  am  very  sure,  from  no  ordinary  people.  We 
must  find  out  her  place  in  life  and  restore  her  to  it. 
She  is  a  child  no  longer.  It  is  not  fitting  that  she 
should  stay  with  us." 

Mabane,  too,  was  for  a  moment  sad  and  silent. 
His  face  fell  into  stern  lines,  but  when  he  answered 
me  his  tone  was  steady  and  resolute  enough. 

"  You  are  right,  Arnold,"  he  answered.  "  We  had 
better  go  back  to  London  and  begin  at  once." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  175 

It  was  perhaps  a  little  ominous  that  I  should  find 
waiting  for  me  on  our  return  a  telegram  from 
Grooten : 

"  I  must  see  you  to-night.  Shall  call  at  your  rooms 
twelve  o'clock." 


176  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   IX 

ISOI4EL  interrupted  the  discussion  with  an  im- 
perative little  tap  upon  the  table. 

"  Please  listen,  all  of  you !  "  she  exclaimed.  "  I 
have  something  to  say,  and  an  invitation  for  you 
ati." 

We  had  been  dining  at  a  little  Italian  restaurant 
on  our  way  home,  and  over  our  coffee  had  been  con- 
sidering how  to  spend  the  rest  of  the  evening.  Arthur 
had  declared  for  a  music  hall;  Mabane  and  I  were 
indifferent.  Isobel  up  to  now  had  said  nothing. 

"  All  my  life,"  she  said  slowly,  "  I  have  been  want- 
ing to  see  Feurgeres.  He  is  in  London  for  one  week 
with  Rejani,  and  if  we  can  get  seats  I  am  going  to 
take  you  all.  I  have  twenty  pounds  in  my  pocket 
from  that  nice  man  Mr.  Grooten,  who  bought  my 
other  miniature,  and  I  want  to  spend  some  of  it." 

Arthur,  who  understood  no  French,  shook  his 
head. 

"  Not  the  slightest  chance  of  seats,"  he  declared. 
"  They  've  all  been  booked  for  weeks." 

"  They  often  have  some  returned  at  the  theatre," 
Isobel  answered.  "At  least,  if  you  others  do  not 
mind,  we  will  go  and  see." 

"  Your  proposal,  Isobel,"  Allan  said  gravely,  "  in- 
dicates a  certain  amount  of  recklessness  which  reflects 
little  credit  upon  us,  your  guardians.  I  propose " 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  177 

"  Please  do  not  be  tiresome ! "  she  interrupted. 
"  Arnold,  you  will  come  with  me,  will  you  not  ?  " 

"  I  shall  be  delighted,"  I  answered.  "  I  am  sure 
that  we  all  shall.  Only  I  am  afraid  that  we  shall  not 
get  in." 

We  paid  the  bill  and  walked  to  the  theatre.  The 
man  at  the  ticket-office  shook  his  head  at  our  request 
for  seats.  People  had  been  waiting  in  the  streets 
since  morning  for  the  unreserved  places,  and  the 
others  had  been  booked  weeks  ago.  But  as  we  were 
turning  away  the  telephone  in  his  office  rang,  and  he 
called  us  back. 

"  I  have  just  had  four  stalls  returned,"  he  said. 
"  You  can  have  them,  if  you  like." 

"  We  are  in  morning  dress,"  I  remarked  doubtfully. 

"  They  are  in  the  back  row,  so  you  can  have  them 
if  you  care  to,"  he  answered. 

"  What  luck ! "  Isobel  exclaimed,  delighted. 
"  Arnold,  how  glorious !  Here  is  my  purse.  Will 
you  pay  for  me,  please  ?  " 

So  we  went  in  just  as  the  curtain  rose  upon  the 
first  act  of  Rostand's  great  play.  The  house  was 
packed  with  an  immense  audience.  One  box  alone, 
the  stage  box  on  the  left,  was  empty.  I  leaned  over 
to  Isobel,  and  would  have  told  her  the  story  which 
all  the  world  knew. 

"You  see  that  box?"  I  whispered.  "Wherever 
he  plays  it  is  always  empty." 

"  I  know,"  she  answered.  "  His  wife  used  to  sit 
there  —  always  in  the  same  place;  and  after  her 
death,  whatever  theatre  he  played  at,  he  always  in- 
sisted upon  having  it  kept  empty.  They  say  that  on 
great  nights,  when  the  people  go  almost  wild  with 


178  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

enthusiasm,  he  looks  into  the  shadows  there  almost 
as  though  he  really  saw  her  still  sitting  in  her  old 
place.  It  is  a  beautiful  story." 

"  Done  for  effect ! "  Arthur  muttered,  and  was 
promptly  snubbed,  as  he  deserved.  They  were 
friends  again  immediately  afterwards,  however,  and 
I  saw  him  attempt  to  hold  her  hand  for  a  moment. 
Decidedly  it  was  time  that  we  carried  out  our  new 
resolution. 

I  think  that  from  the  moment  I  took  my  seat  I  was 
conscious  in  some  mysterious  way  of  the  coming  of 
great  things.  There  was  a  thrill  of  excitement  in  the 
air,  a  sort  of  stifled  electricity  which  one  realizes 
often  amongst  a  highly  cultured  audience  awaiting 
the  production  of  a  great  work.  But  apart  from  this 
sensation  of  which  I  was  fully  conscious,  I  felt  a 
curious  sense  of  nervousness  stealing  in  upon  me  for 
which  I  could  in  no  way  account.  I  knew  what  it 
meant  only  when,  amidst  a  storm  of  cheers,  Feurgeres 
entered.  Then  indeed  I  knew. 

I  kept  silent,  for  which  I  was  thankful,  but  the 
programme  in  my  hand  was  crumpled  into  a  little 
ball,  and  the  figures  upon  the  stage  moved  as  though 
in  a  mist  before  my  eyes.  Isobel  noticed  nothing, 
for  her  whole  breathless  attention  was  riveted  upon 
the  play.  I  came  to  myself  with  the  rich  sweet  voice 
.of  the  man,  so  tender,  so  infinitely  pathetic,  ringing 
with  a  curious  familiarity  in  my  ears.  From  that 
moment  I  followed  the  movement  of  the  play. 

The  curtain  went  down  upon  the  first  act  amidst  a 
silence  so  intense  that  it  seemed  as  though  people 
might  be  listening  still  for  the  echoes  of  that  sad, 
sweet  voice  which  had  been  playing  so  effectively 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  179 

upon  their  heartstrings.  Then  came  the  storm  of 
applause,  which  lasted  for  several  minutes.  I  turned 
towards  Isobel.  She  was  sitting  very  still,  and  she 
did  not  join  in  the  enthusiasm  which  seemed  to  find 
its  way  straight  from  the  hearts  of  the  men  and 
women  who  sat  about  us.  But  her  eyes  were  wet 
with  tears,  her  lips  a  little  parted.  She  gazed  at  the 
man  whom  incessant  calls  had  brought  at  last  a  little 
wearily  before  the  curtain,  as  one  might  look  at  a 
god.  And  their  eyes  met.  He  did  not  start  or  be- 
tray himself  in  any  way  —  perhaps  his  training 
befriended  him  there,  but  as  he  left  the  stage  he 
staggered,  and  I  saw  his  hand  go  to  clutch  the  cur- 
tain for  support.  I  knew  then  that,  before  the  night 
was  over,  Isobel's  history  would  no  longer  be  a  secret 
to  us. 

She  turned  to  me  with  a  little  smile  of  apology. 
There  was  a  new  look  in  her  face  too.  She  spoke 
gravely. 

"  Was  I  very  stupid  ?  I  am  sorry,  but  I  could  not 
help  it.  I  have  never  seen  anything  like  this  before. 
It  is  wonderful !  " 

We  talked  quietly  of  the  play,  and  I  was  astonished 
at  the  keenness  of  her  perceptions,  the  unerring  ease 
with  which  she  had  realized  and  appreciated  the  self- 
abnegation  which  was  the  great  underlying  motif  of 
the  whole  drama.  And  in  the  midst  of  our  conversa- 
tion, what  I  had  expected  happened.  A  note  was 
brought  to  me  by  an  attendant. 

"  Come  to  me  after  the  next  act,  and  bring  her. 
An  attendant  will  be  waiting  for  you  at  your  left- 
hand  door  of  egress." 

Mabane  and  Arthur  had  gone  out  to  have  a  smoke. 


180  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  had  still  a  moment  before  the  curtain  went  up.  I 
leaned  over  towards  Isobel. 

"  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  I  am  going  to  tell  you  some- 
thing which  will  surprise  you  very  much.  It  is 
necessary  that  I  tell  you  at  once.  If  you  answer 
me  at  all  do  not  speak  above  a  whisper." 

She  only  slightly  moved  her  head.  I  had  not  any 
fear  of  her  betraying  herself. 

"  You  have  seen  Feurgeres  before.  It  was  in  the 
cafe.  He  was  my  companion  when  I  saw  you 
first" 

"  Mr.  Grooten !  "  she  murmured,  so  softly  that  her 
lips  seemed  scarcely  to  move. 

I  nodded  assent. 

"You  knew?" 

"  Not  until  to-night" 

She  was  very  pale,  but  her  self-control  was  com- 
plete. 

"  He  wishes  us  —  you  and  I  —  to  go  round  to  his 
room  after  this  act  You  will  be  prepared?" 

"  Of  course,"  she  answered  simply. 

Mabane  and  Arthur  came  back,  and  the  latter 
whispered  several  times  in  her  ear.  I  doubt,  how- 
ever, whether  she  heard  anything.  She  sat  through 
the  whole  of  the  next  act  like  one  in  a  dream,  only 
her  eyes  never  left  the  stage  —  never  left,  indeed,  the 
figure  of  the  man  from  whom  all  the  greatness  of 
the  play  seemed  to  flow.  As  the  curtain  fell  I  leaned 
over  to  Arthur. 

"  Isobel  and  I  are  going  to  pay  a  visit,"  I  said. 
"  We  shall  be  back  in  time  for  the  next  act." 

"  A  visit !  "  he  repeated  doubtfully.  "  Is  there  any- 
one we  know  here,  then?  " 


THE  MASTER   MUMMER 

"Allan  will  explain,"  I  answered.  "You  had 
better  tell  him,"  I  whispered  to  Mabane. 

Allan  was  looking  very  serious.  I  think  that  he 
questioned  the  wisdom  of  what  I  was  doing. 

"  You  are  going  to  see  him  ?  "  he  asked,  in  a  low 
tone. 

"  He  has  sent  for  us,"  I  answered. 

We  found  the  attendant  waiting,  and  by  a  devious 
route  along  many  passages  and  through  many  doors 
we  reached  our  destination  at  last.  Our  guide 
knocked  at  a  door  on  which  was  hanging  a  little 
board  with  the  name  of  "  Monsieur  Feurgeres " 
painted  across  it.  Almost  immediately  we  were 
bidden  to  enter.  Monsieur  Feurgeres  was  sitting 
with  his  back  to  us  before  a  long  dressing-table. 
He  turned  at  once  to  the  servant  who  stood  by  his 
side. 

"  Come  back  five  minutes  before  my  call,"  he  or- 
dered. "  That  will  be  in  about  twenty  minutes  from 
now." 

The  man  bowed  and  silently  withdrew.  Not  until 
he  had  left  the  room  did  Feurgeres  move  from  his 
place.  Then  he  arose  to  his  feet  and  held  out  his 
hands  to  Isobel. 

"  I  knew  your  mother,  Isobel !  "  he  said  simply. 


182  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   X 

ISOBEL  never  hesitated.  I  think  that  instinc- 
tively she  accepted  him  without  demur.  Her 
eyes  flashed  back  to  him  all  those  nameless  things 
which  his  own  greeting  had  left  unspoken.  She  took 
his  hands,  and  looked  him  frankly  in  the  face. 

"  All  my  life,"  she  said  softly,  "  I  have  wanted  to 
meet  someone  who  could  say  that  to  me." 

He  was  dressed  in  a  suit  of  mediaeval  court  clothes, 
black  from  head  to  foot,  and  fashioned  according  to 
the  period  of  the  play  in  which  he  was  acting.  But 
if  he  had  worn  the  garments  of  a  pierrot  or  a  clown, 
one  would  never  have  noticed  it.  The  man's  individ- 
uality, magnetic  and  irresistible,  triumphed  easily. 
Mr.  Grooten  had  passed  away.  It  was  the  great 
Feurgeres,  whose  sad  shining  eyes  lingered  so  wist- 
fully upon  Isobel's  face. 

"  I  can  say  more  than  that,"  he  went  on.  "  And 
now  that  I  see  you,  Isobel,  I  wonder  that  I  have  not 
said  it  long  ago.  You  are  like  her,  child  —  very  like 
her!" 

"  I  am  glad,"  Isobel  murmured.  "  Please  tell  me 
—  everything ! " 

"  Everything  —  for  me  —  is  soon  told,"  he  an- 
swered, his  voice  dropping  almost  to  a  whisper,  his 
eyes  still  fixed  upon  Isobel's,  yet  looking  her  through 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  183 

as  though  she  were  a  shadow.  "  I  loved  your  mother. 
I  was  the  man  —  whom  your  mother  loved!  The 
years  of  my  life  began  and  ended  there." 

Their  hands  had  fallen  apart  a  little  while  before, 
but  Isobel,  with  an  impulsive  gesture,  stooped  down 
and  raised  the  fingers  of  his  left  hand  to  her  lips.  I 
turned  away.  It  seemed  like  sacrilege  to  watch  a 
man's  soul  shining  in  his  eyes.  I  walked  to  the 
other  end  of  the  long  narrow  room,  and  examined  the 
swords  which  lay  ready  for  use  against  the  wall.  It 
was  not  many  minutes,  however,  before  Feurgeres 
recalled  me. 

"  To-night,"  he  said,  "  I  was  coming  to  see  Mr. 
Greatson." 

"  It  is  better,"  she  murmured,  "  to  have  met  you 
like  this." 

He  smiled  very  slightly,  yet  it  seemed  to  me  that 
the  curve  of  his  lips  was  almost  a  caress.  There  was 
certainly  nothing  left  now  of  Mr.  Grooten. 

"  I  think  that  I,  too,  am  glad,"  he  said.  "  Your 
mother  suffered  all  her  life  because  she  permitted 
herself  to  care  for  me.  We  mummers,  you  see,  Isobel, 
though  the  world  loves  to  be  amused,  are  always  a 
little  outside  the  pale.  I  think,"  he  added,  with  a 
curious  little  note  of  bitterness  in  his  tone,  "  that  we 
are  not  reckoned  worthy  or  capable  of  the  domestic 
affections." 

:<  You  do  not  believe  —  you  cannot  believe,"  she 
murmured,  "  that  there  are  many  people  who  are  so 
foolish!  It  is  the  dwellers  in  the  world  who  are 
mummers  —  those  who  live  their  foolish,  orderly 
lives  with  their  eyes  closed,  and  oppressed  all  the 
while  with  a  nervous  fear  of  what  their  neighbours 


184  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

are  thinking  of  them.  Those  are  the  mummers  — 
but  you  —  you,  Monsieur,  are  Feurgeres  —  the  artist ! 
iYou  make  music  on  the  heartstrings  of  the  world !  " 

For  myself  I  was  astonished.  I  had  not  often  seen 
Isobel  so  deeply  moved.  I  had  never  known  her  so 
ready,  so  earnest  of  speech.  But  Feurgeres  was 
almost  agitated.  For  the  first  time  I  saw  him  without 
the  mask  of  his  perfect  self-control.  His  cheeks  were 
flushed,  his  eyes  were  soft  as  a  woman's.  He  raised 
Isobel' s  hand  to  his  lips,  and  his  voice,  when  he  spoke, 
shook  with  real  emotion.  * 

"  You  are  the  daughter  of  your  mother,  dear 
Isobel,"  he  said.  "  Beyond  that,  what  is  there  that 
I  can  say  —  I,  who  loved  her !  " 

"  You  can  tell  me  about  her,"  Isobel  said  gently. 
"  That  is  what  I  have  been  hoping  for ! " 

"  A  little,  a  very  little,"  he  answered,  "  and  more 
to-night,  if  you  will.  I  have  already  written  to  Mr. 
Greatson,  and  I  meant  in  a  few  hours  to  tell  him 
everything.  But  I  would  have  you  know  this,  Isobel, 
and  remember  it  always.  Your  mother  was  a  holy 
woman.  For  my  sake,  for  the  sake  of  the  love  she 
bore  me,  she  abandoned  a  great  position.  She  broke 
down  all  the  barriers  of  race,  and  all  the  conventions 
of  a  lifetime.  She  lost  every  friend  she  had  in  the 
world ;  she  even,  perhaps,  in  some  measure,  neglected 
her  duty  to  you.  Yet  you  were  seldom  out  of  her 
thoughts,  and  her  last  words  committed  you  to  my 
distant  care.  I  have,  perhaps,  ill-fulfilled  her  charge, 
Isobel.  Yet  I  have  been  watching  over  you  sometimes 
when  you  have  not  known  it." 

"  You  were  my  saviour  once,"  she  said,  "  you  and 
Arnold  here,  when  I  sorely  needed  help." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  183 

"  I  came  from  America  at  a  moment's  notice,"  he 
said,  "  when  it  seemed  to  me  that  you  might  need  my 
help.  I  broke  the  greatest  contract  I  had  ever  signed, 
and  I  placed  my  liberty,  if  not  my  life,  at  the  mercy  of 
your  wonderful  police  system.  But  those  things  count 
for  little.  I  have  been  forced,  Isobel,  to  leave  you 
very  much  to  yourself.  You  come  of  a  race  who 
would  regard  any  association  with  me  as  clefilement. 
And  there  is  always  the  chance  that  you  may  be  able 
to  take  your  proper  position  in  the  world.  That  is 
why  it  has  been  my  duty  to  keep  away  from  you,  why 
I  have  been  forced  to  leave  to  others  what  I  would 
gladly  have  done  myself.  To-night  you  will  under- 
stand everything." 

"  Nothing  that  you  can  tell  me  of  my  family  or 
myself,"  she  answered,  "  will  ever  make  me  forget 
that,  whereas  of  them  I  know  nothing,  you  have  been 
my  guardian  angel.  It  was  you  who  rescued  me 
from  the  one  person  in  this  world  of  whom  I  have 
been  miserably,  hatefully  afraid.  It  was  not  my 
family  who  saved  me.  It  was  you !  " 

A  shrill  bell  was  ringing  outside.  We  heard  the 
commotion  of  hurrying  footsteps,  the  call-boy's  sum- 
mons, the  creaking  of  moving  scenery.  Feurgeres 
glanced  at  the  watch  which  stood  upon  his  table.  His 
manner  seemed  to  undergo  a  sudden  change.  The 
man  no  longer  revealed  himself. 

"  The  curtain  is  going  up,"  he  said.  "  I  can  stay 
with  you  but  two  minutes  longer.  I  am  coming  to 
see  Mr.  Greatson  to-night,  Isobel,  after  the  perform- 
ance,, and  I  wish  to  see  him  alone.  This  is  at  once 
our  meeting  and  our  farewell." 

"  Our  farewell ! "  she  repeated  doubtfully.    "  Surely 


186  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

you  are  not  going  to  leave  us  —  so  soon !  You  cannot 
mean  that?" 

"  To-morrow,"  he  said,  "  I  leave  for  St.  Petersburg. 
My  engagement  there  has  been  made  many  months 
ago.  But  even  if  it  were  not  so,  dear  child,  our  ways 
through  life  must  always  lie  far  apart.  If  the  neces- 
sity for  it  had  not  existed,  I  should  not  have  left  you 
to  the  care  of  —  of  even  Mr.  Greatson.  To  be  your 
guardian,  Isobel,  would  not  be  seemly.  That  you  will 
better  understand  —  to-morrow." 

"  Indeed !  "  she  protested,  "  I  would  sooner  hear  it 
now  from  your  own  lips  —  if,  indeed,  it  must  be  so !  " 

He  shook  his  head  very  slowly,  but  with  a  decision 
more  finite  than  the  most  emphatic  negation  which 
words  could  have  framed. 

"  I  must  go  away,  Isobel,"  he  said,  "  and  you  and 
I  must  remain  apart.  I  will  only  ask  you  to  remember 
me  by  this.  I  am  the  man  your  mother  loved.  Noth- 
ing else  in  my  life  is  worth  considering  —  but  that. 
I  am  one  of  those  with  whom  fate  has  dealt  a  little 
hardly.  I  am  as  weary  of  my  work  as  I  am  of  life 
itself.  I  go  on  because  it  was  her  wish.  But  I  cannot 
forget.  The  past  remains  —  a  blazing  page  of  light. 
The  present  is  a  very  empty  and  a  very  cold  place. 
My  days  here  are  a  sort  of  aftermath.  My  life  ended 
with  hers.  To-night,  for  one  moment  —  I  want  you 
to  take  her  place." 

Isobel  looked  at  him  eagerly. 

"  Tell  me  how,"  she  begged.  "  Tell  me  what  to 
do!" 

"  It  may  sound  very  foolish,"  he  said,  with  a  faint 
smile,  "  but  I  have  a  fancy,  and  I  am  sure  that  you 
will  do  as  I  ask.  I  want  you  to  sit  where  she  sat  night 


iTHE  MASTER   MUMMER  ii8^ 

after  night.  You  will  find  some  flowers  in  her  chair. 
Keep  them.  They  were  the  ones  she  preferred." 

There  was  an  imperative  knocking  at  the  door. 
Feurgeres  caught  up  his  plumed  hat  and  sword. 

"  I  am  ready,"  he  said  quietly.  "  Mr.  Greatson, 
my  servant  will  take  you  to  the  box,  which  I  beg  that 
you  and  Isobel  will  occupy  for  the  rest  of  the  evening. 
It  is  a  harmless  whim  of  mine,  and  I  trust  that  it 
will  not  inconvenience  you." 

With  scarcely  another  word  he  left  us,  and  a 
moment  later  we  heard  the  roar  of  applause  which 
greeted  his  appearance  on  the  stage.  Isobel's  eyes 
kindled,  and  she  moved  restlessly  towards  the  door. 

"  I  do  hope,"  she  said,  "  that  someone  will  come 
for  us  soon.  I  want  to  hear  every  word.  I  hate  to 
miss  any  of  it." 

The  dark-visaged  servant  stood  upon  the  threshold. 

"  I  have  orders  from  Monsieur  Feurgeres,"  he 
announced  respectfully,  "  to  conduct  you  to  his  box. 
If  Mademoiselle  will  permit !  " 

We  followed  him  on  tiptoe  to  the  front  of  the 
house.  He  unlocked  the  door  of  the  left-hand  stage 
box  with  a  key  which  he  took  from  his  pocket. 

"  Monsieur  will  permit  me  to  remark,"  he  whis- 
pered, "  that  this  is  the  first  time  since  I  have  been 
in  the  service  of  Monsieur  Feurgeres  that  anyone 
has  occupied  his  private  box.  I  trust  that  Mademoi- 
selle will  be  comfortable." 

Then  the  door  closed  behind  him,  and  we  were  left 
to  ourselves. 


188  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   XI 

ISOBEL,  her  chair  drawn  a  little  behind  the 
curtain,  was  almost  invisible  from  the  house. 
iWith  both  hands  she  held  the  cluster  of  pink  roses 
which  she  had  found  upon  the  seat.  Gravely,  but 
with  wonderful  self-composure,  she  followed  the 
action  of  the  play  with  an  intentness  which  never 
faltered.  Occasionally  she  leaned  a  little  forward,  and 
at  such  moments  her  profile  passed  the  droop  of  the 
curtain,  and  was  visible  to  the  greater  part  of  the 
audience.  It  was  immediately  after  one  of  such  move- 
ments that  I  noticed  some  commotion  amongst  the 
occupants  of  the  box  opposite  to  us.  Their  attention 
seemed  suddenly  drawn  towards  Isobel  —  two  sets 
of  opera-glasses  were  steadily  levelled  at  her.  A 
woman,  whose  neck  and  arms  were  ablaze  with 
diamonds,  raised  her  lorgnettes,  and,  regardless  of 
the  progress  of  the  play,  kept  them  fixed  in  our 
direction.  I  changed  my  position  to  obtain  a  better 
view  of  these  people,  and  immediately  I  understood. 

I  saw  the  house  now  for  the  first  time,  and  I  saw 
something  which  pleased  me  very  little.  We  were 
immediately  opposite  the  Royal  box,  which,  with  the 
one  adjoining,  was  occupied  by  a  very  brilliant  little 
party.  The  Archduchess  was  there.  It  was  she 
whose  lorgnettes  were  still  unfalteringly  directed 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  189 

towards  Isobel.  Lady  Delahaye  sat  in  the  back- 
ground, and  a  greater  personage  than  either  occupied 
the  chair  next  to  the  Archduchess.  Soon  I  saw  that 
they  were  all  whispering  together,  all  still  looking 
from  Isobel  towards  the  stage,  and  from  the  stage 
to  Isobel;  and  in  the  background  was  a  man  whose 
coat  was  covered  with  orders,  and  who  held  himself 
like  a  soldier.  He  looked  at  Isobel  as  one  might  look 
at  a  ghost..  I  stood  back  almost  hidden  in  the 
shadows,  and  I  wondered  more  than  ever  what  the 
end  of  all  these  things  might  be. 

Towards  the  close  of  the  act  that  wonderful  voice, 
with  its  low  burden  of  sorrow  so  marvellously  con- 
trolled, drew  me  against  my  will  to  the  front  of  the 
box.  He  stood  there  with  outstretched  arms,  the 
prototype  of  all  pathos,  and  the  low  words,  drawn 
as  it  were  against  his  will  from  his  tremulous  lips, 
kept  the  whole  house  breathless.  His  arms  dropped 
to  his  side,  the  curtain  commenced  to  fall.  In  that 
moment  his  eyes,  suddenly  uplifted,  met  mine.  It 
seemed  to  me  that  they  were  charged  with  meaning, 
and  I  .read  their  message  rightly.  After  all,  though, 
I  am  not  sure  that  I  needed  any  warning. 

The  curtain  fell.  There  was  twenty  minutes'  inter- 
val. Isobel  sat  back  in  her  chair,  and  her  hand  lingered 
lovingly  about  the  roses  which  lay  upon  her  lap.  I 
did  not  speak  to  her.  I  knew  that  she  was  living  in 
a  little  world  of  her  own,  into  which  any  ordinary 
intrusion  was  almost  sacrilege.  Arthur  and  Allan 
had  left  their  places.  I  judged  rightly  that  they  had 
gone  home.  So  I  sat  by  myself,  and  waited  for  what 
I  knew  was  sure  to  happen. 

And  presently  it  came  —  the  knock  at  the  box  door 


190  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

for  which  I  had  been  listening.  I  rose  and  opened 
it.  A  tall  young  Englishman,  with  smooth  parted 
hair,  whose  evening  attire  was  so  immaculate  as  to 
become  almost  an  offence,  stood  and  stared  at  me 
through  his  eyeglass. 

"  Mr.  Greatson !  "  he  suggested.  "  Mr.  Arnold 
Greatson  ?  " 

I  acknowledged  the  fact  with  becoming  meekness. 

"  My  name  is  Milton,"  he  said  —  "  Captain  Angus 
Milton.  I  am  in  the  suite  of  the  Archduchess  for  this 
evening.  Her  Highness  occupies  the  box  opposite 
to  yours." 

I  bowed. 

"  I  have  noticed  the  fact,"  I  answered.  "  The  Arch- 
duchess has  been  good  enough  to  favour  us  with  some 
attention." 

The  young  man  stared  at  me  for  some  moments. 
I  found  myself  able  to  endure  his  scrutiny. 

"  Her  Highness  desires  that  you  and  the  young 
lady  "  —  for  the  first  time  he  bowed  towards  Isobel 

—  "  will  be  so  good  as  to  come  to  the  anteroom  of 
the  Royal  box.     She  is  anxious  for  a  few  minutes' 
conversation  with  you." 

"  The  Archduchess,"  I  answered,  "  does  us  too 
much  honour!  I  shall  be  glad,  however,  if  you  will 
inform  her  that  we  will  take  another  opportunity  of 
waiting  upon  her.  Miss  de  Sorrens  is  much  inter- 
ested in  the  play." 

The  young  man  dropped  his  eyeglass.  I  was 
proud  of  the  fact  that  I  had  succeeded  in  surprising 
him. 

"  You  mean,"  he  exclaimed  softly,  "  that  you  won't 

—  that  you  don't  want  to  come?. " 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  191 

"  Precisely,"  I  answered.  "  I  have  already  had 
the  honour  of  one  interview  with  the  Archduchess,, 
and  I  imagine  that  no  useful  purpose  would  be 
served  by  re-opening  the  subject  of  our  discus- 
sion!" 

"The  young  lady,  then?"  he  remarked,  turning 
again  to  Isobel. 

"  The  young  lady  remains  under  my  charge,"  I 
answered.  "  You  will  be  so  good  as  to  express  my 
regrets  to  the  Archduchess." 

He  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then,  with  a  slight 
bow  to  Isobel,  left  us.  She  spoke  to  me,  and  we 
had  been  so  long  silent  that  our  voices  sounded 
strange. 

"  Thank  you,  Arnold,"  she  said  quietly.  "  This 
is  all  so  wonderful  that  I  could  not  bear  to  have  it 
disturbed." 

"  I  pray  that  it  may  not  be,"  I  answered.  "  The 
Archduchess's  interest  is  flattering,  but  mysterious. 
I  for  one  do  not  trust  her.  I  wish " 

I  broke  off  in  my  speech,  for  I  saw  that  the  prin- 
cipal seat  in  the  opposite  box  was  vacant.  As  for 
Isobel,  I  doubt  whether  she  noticed  my  sudden  pause. 
Her  hands  were  still  caressing  the  soft  pink  blossoms 
in  her  lap,  her  eyes  were  fixed  upon  vacancy.  She 
was  in  a  sort  of  dream,  from  which  I  did  not  care 
to  rouse  her.  I  knew  very  well  that  the  awakening 
would  come  fast  enough. 

Another  imperative  tap  upon  the  door.  I  opened 
it,  and  the  Archduchess  swept  past  me.  In  the  dark- 
ness of  our  box  her  diamonds  glittered  like  fire,  the 
perfume  from  her  draperies  was  stronger  by  far  than 
the  delicate  fragrance  of  the  roses  which  Isobel  still 


192  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

held.  Me  she  ignored  altogether.  She  went  straight 
up  to  Isobel,  and,  stooping  down,  rested  her  gloved 
hand  upon  the  girl's  shoulder. 

"  I  sent  for  you  just  now,"  she  said.  "  Did  you 
not  understand?  " 

Isobel  raised  her  eyebrows.  The  Archduchess  was 
angry,  and  her  voice  betrayed  her. 

"  I  do  not  know  any  reason,"  Isobel  answered, 
*'  why  I  should  do  your  bidding." 

The  Archduchess  was  silent  for  a  moment.  I 
think  that  she  was  waiting  until  she  could  control 
her  voice. 

"  Isobel,"  she  said,  "  I  will  tell  you  a  very  good 
reason.  I  cannot  keep  silence  any  longer.  They  will 
not  give  you  up  to  me  any  other  way,  so  I  have  come 
to  claim  you  openly.  You  shall  know  the  truth.  I 
am  your  mother's  sister !  " 

Isobel  rose  slowly  to  her  feet.  She  was  as  tall  as 
the  Archduchess,  and  the  likeness  which  had  always 
haunted  me  was  unmistakeable.  Only  Isobel  was  of 
the  finer  mould,  and  her  eyes  were  different. 

"  Why  did  you  not  tell  me  this  before  —  at  the 
Mordaunt  Rooms,  for  instance?"  she  asked. 

"  You  came  upon  me  like  a  thunderclap,"  the 
Archduchess  answered  quickly.  "  For  years  we  had 
lost  all  trace  of  you.  Besides,  there  were  reasons  — 
you  know  that  there  were  reasons  why  I  might  surely 
have  been  forgiven  for  hesitating.  But  let  that  go. 
We  had  better  have  your  story  blazoned  out  once 
more  to  the  world  than  that  you  should  live  your  life 
in  this  hole-and-corner  fashion.  I  shall  take  you  back 
to  Waldenburg.  I  presume,  sir !  "  she  added,  turning 
.suddenly  towards  me,  "  that  even  you  will  not  ques- 


"  I  do  not  know  any  reason  "  Isobel  answered,  "  why  I  shDuld 
do  your  bidding."      Page  192. 

The  Master  Mummer. 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  193 

tion  my  right  to  assume  the  guardianship  of  my  own 
niece  ?  " 

The  memory  of  Feurgeres'  look  came  to  my  aid, 
or  I  scarcely  know  how  I  should  have  answered 
her. 

"  Your  Highness,"  I  said,  "  it  is  for  Isobel  to 
decide.  She  is  no  longer  a  child.  Only  I  would 
remind  you  that  you  have  on  more  than  one  occasion 
endeavoured  to  assume  that  guardianship  without 
mentioning  any  such  relationship." 

"  You  know  Isobel's  history,"  the  Archduchess 
answered.  "  Can  you  wonder  that  I  was  anxious  to 
avoid  all  publicity?" 

"  Your  Highness,"  I  said,  "  we  do  not  know 
Isobel's  history  —  yet.  We  shall  hear  it  to-night." 

"  He  has  not  told  you  —  yet  ? "  she  asked  in- 
credulously. 

"  He  is  coming  to  my  rooms  to-night,"  I  an- 
swered. 

"  You  shall  hear  it  before  then,"  she  exclaimed, 
with  a  little  laugh.  "  Put  on  your  hat,  child.  We 
will  drive  to  my  house,  you  and  I  and  Mr.  Greatson, 
and  I  will  tell  you  everything.  You  will  know 
then  how  greatly  that  man  insulted  you  by  daring- 
to  allow  you  to  occupy  this  box,  to  approach  you 
at  all." 

"  Madame,"  Isobel  said,  "  I  thank  you,  but  I  wish 
to  hear  the  end  of  the  play.  And  as  for  my  history, 
Monsieur  Feurgeres  has  promised  to  tell  it  to  Mr. 
Greatson  to-night." 

I  saw  the  Archduchess's  teeth  meet,  and  a  spot  of 
colour  that  burned  in  her  cheeks. 

"  You  talk  like  a  fool,  child,"  she  said  fiercely. 
13 


194  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  You  are  being  deceived  on  every  side.  It  is  not 
fit  that  that  man  should  come  into  your  presence.  It 
is  a  disgrace  that  you  should  mention  his  name." 

"  Mr.  —  Monsieur  Feurgeres  has  proved  himself 
my  friend,"  Isobel  answered  quietly. 

The  Archduchess's  eyes  were  burning.  She  was  a 
woman  of  violent  temper,  and  it  was  fast  becoming 
beyond  her  control. 

"  Child,"  she  said,  "  I  am  your  aunt,  the  daughter 
of  the  King  of  Waldenburg.  You,  too,  are  of  the 
same  race.  You  know  well  that  I  speak  the  truth. 
How  dare  you  talk  to  me  of  a  creature  like  Feur- 
geres? You  have  our  blood  in  your  veins.  I  com- 
mand you  to  come  with  me,  and  break  off  at  once 
and  for  ever  these  remarkable  associations.  You 
shall  make  what  return  you  will  later  on  to  those 
whom  you  may  think  "  —  she  darted  a  contemptu- 
ous glance  at  me  —  "  have  been  your  friends.  But 
from  this  moment  I  claim  you.  Come !  " 

Isobel  looked  her  aunt  in  the  face.  She  spoke 
courteously,  but  without  faltering. 

"  Madame,"  she  said,  "  it  is  not  possible  for  me  to 
do  as  you  ask.  Whatever  plans  are  made  for  my 
future,  it  is  to  my  dear  friend  here,"  she  said,  looking 
across  at  me  with  shining  eyes,  "  that  I  owe  every- 
thing. And  as  for  Monsieur  Feurgeres,  I  have 
promised  him  to  occupy  this  box  for  this  evening, 
and  I  shall  do  so." 

The  Archduchess  was  very  white. 

"  You  force  me  to  tell  you,  child,"  she  said.  "  This 
creature  Feurgeres  was  your  mother's " 

"Your  Highness!"  I  cried. 

She  stopped  short  and  bit  her  lip.    Isobel  was  very 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  19$ 

pale,  but  she  pointed  to  the  door.  The  orchestra  had 
commenced  to  play. 

"  Madame,"  she  said,  "  Monsieur  Feurgeres  loved 
my  mother.  I  shall  keep  my  word  to  him." 

There  was  a  soft  knock  at  the  door.  Captain 
Milton  stood  on  the  threshold. 

"  Your  Highness,"  he  said,  bowing  low,  "  the 
curtain  will  rise  in  thirty  seconds." 

The  Archduchess  left  us  without  a  word. 


196  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   XII 

IT  was  not  often  we  permitted  ourselves  such  luxu- 
ries, but  as  we  left  the  theatre  I  caught  a  glimpse 
of  Isobel's  white  face,  more  clearly  visible  now  than 
in  the  dimly  lit  box,  and  I  knew  that,  bravely  though 
she  had  carried  herself  through  the  whole  of  that 
trying  evening,  she  was  not  far  from  breaking  down. 
So  I  called  a  hansom,  and  she  sank  back  in  a  corner 
with  a  little  sigh  of  relief.  I  lit  a  cigarette,  and  sud- 
denly I  felt  a  cold  little  hand  steal  into  mine.  I  set 
my  teeth  and  held  it  firmly. 

"  Arnold,"  she  whispered,  and  her  voice  was  none 
too  steady,  "  I  hate  that  woman.  I  do  not  care  if 
she  is  my  aunt;  and  —  Arnold " 

"Yes." 

"  I  believe  that  she  hates  me  too.  She  looks  at  me 
as  though  I  were  something  unpleasant,  as  though 
she  wished  me  dead.  I  will  not  go  to  her,  Arnold. 
Say  that  I  shall  not." 

For  a  moment  I  was  silent.  Her  little  womanish 
airs  of  the  last  few  months,  the  quaint,  effort  of 
dignity  with  which  it  seemed  to  have  pleased  her 
to  add  all  that  was  possible  to  her  years,  had  wholly 
departed.  She  was  a  child  again,  with  frightened 
eyes  and  quivering  lips,  the  child  who  had  walked 
so  easily  into  our  hearts  in  those  first  days  of  her 
terror.  To  think  of  her  as  such  again  was  almost  a 
.relief. 


THE  MASTER   MUMMER  197 

"  Dear  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  the  Archduchess  has  told 
me  now  two  different  stories  concerning  you.  She 
appears  to  be  very  anxious  to  have  you  in  her  care, 
but  her  methods  up  to  the  present  have  been  very 
strange.  We  shall  not  give  you  up  to  her  unless  we 
are  obliged.  But " 

"  Please  what,  Arnold?  "  she  interrupted  anxiously. 

"  If  the  Archduchess  is  indeed  your  aunt,  as  she 
says  she  is,  you  must  have  hundreds  of  other  re- 
lations, many  of  whom  you  would  without  doubt  find 
very  different  people.  Besides,  in  that  case,  you  see, 
Isobel,  you  ought  to  be  living  altogether  differently. 
It  is  absurd  for  you  to  be  grubbing  along  with  us  in 
an  attic  when  you  ought  to  be  living  in  a  palace,  with 
plenty  of  money  and  servants  and  beautiful  frocks, 
and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  You  understand  me, 
don't  you?"  I  concluded  a  little  lamely,  for  the 
steady  gaze  of  those  deep  blue  frightened  eyes  was 
a  little  disconcerting. 

"  No,  I  do  not,"  she  answered.  "  If  I  am  a 
Waldenburg  and  the  niece  of  the  Archduchess,  why 
was  I  left  alone  at  that  convent  for  all  those  years, 
and  who  was  responsible  for  sending  that  man  to 
fetch  me  away  —  that  terrible  man?  How  are  they 
going  to  explain  that,  these  wonderful  relations  of 
mine?  Oh,  Arnold,  Arnold!"  she  cried,  suddenly 
swaying  over  towards  me  in  the  cab,  "  I  don't  want 
to  leave  you  —  all.  Do  not  send  me  away.  Promise 
that  you  will  not !  " 

A  child,  I  told  myself  fiercely,  a  mere  child  this! 
Nevertheless  I  was  thankful  for  the  darkness  of  the 
silent  street  into  which  we  had  turned,  the  darkness 
which  hid  my  face  from  her.  Her  soft  breath  was 


198  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

upon  my  cheek,  her  beautiful  head  very  near  my 
shoulder.  Oh,  I  had  need  of  all  my  strength,  of  all 
my  common-sense. 

"Dear  Isobel,"  I  said,  looking  straight  ahead  of 
me  out  of  the  cab,  "  I  cannot  make  you  any  promise. 
All  must  depend  upon  what  Monsieur  Feurgeres  tells 
us  to-night.  Nothing  would  make  me  —  all  of  us  — 
happier  than  to  keep  you  with  us  always.  But  it 
may  not  be  our  duty  to  keep  you,  or  yours  to  stay. 
Until  we  have  heard  Feurgeres'  story  we  are  in  the 
dark." 

She  shrank,  as  it  seemed,  into  herself.  Her  eyes 
followed  mine  hauntingly. 

"  Arnold,"  she  said,  with  a  little  tremor  in  her 
tone,  "you  are  not  very  kind  to  me  to-night,  and  I 
feel  —  that  I  want  —  people  to  be  kind  to  me  just 
now." 

I  bent  down,  and  I  raised  her  hands  to  my  lips  and 
kissed  them. 

"  My  dear  child,"  I  said,  "  don't  forget  that  I  am 
your  guardian,  and  I  have  to  think  for  you  —  a  long 
way  ahead.  As  for  the  rest,  I  have  not  a  single 
thought  or  hope  in  life  which  is  not  concerned  for 
your  happiness."  , 

"  I  like  that  better,"  she  murmured ;  "  but  —  you 
are  very  fond  of  my  hands." 

Fortunately  the  cab  pulled  up  with  a  jerk.  I  paid 
the  man,  and  we  commenced  to  climb  up  the  stone 
steps  towards  our  rooms.  Isobel,  who  was  generally 
a  couple  of  flights  ahead,  slipped  her  hand  through 
my  arm  and  leaned  heavily  upon  me. 

"  Arnold,"  she  whispered,  "  why  would  you  not 
read  your  story  to  me.  Tell  me,  please ! " 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  199 

"My  dear  child!"  I  exclaimed,  "what  made  you 
think  of  that  just  now?" 

She  leaned  forward.  I  think  that  she  was  trying 
to  look  into  my  face. 

"  Never  mind !    Please  tell  me,"  she  begged. 

"  I  will  read  it  some  day,"  I  answered.  "  It  is 
so  incomplete.  I  think  I  shall  have  to  rewrite  it." 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  You  have  always  read  to  me  before  just  as  you 
have  written  it.  I  think  that  you  are  not  quite  so 
nice  to  me,  Arnold,  as  you  were.  I  haven't  done 
anything  that  you  do  not  like,  have  I?  Because  I 
am  sure  that  you  are  different!" 

"  You  absurd  child,"  I  answered,  smiling  at  her 
as  cheerfully  as  I  could.  "  You  are  in  an  imagina- 
tive frame  of  mind  to-night." 

"  It  is  not  that !  You  look  at  me  differently,  you 
do  not  seem  to  want  to  have  me  with  you  so  much, 
and " 

I  stopped  her.  We  had  reached  the  fourth  floor, 
where  our  apartments  were.  With  the  key  in  the 
lock  I  turned  and  faced  her  for  a  moment.  She  was 
as  tall  as  I,  and  a  certain  grace  of  carriage  which  she 
had  always  possessed,  and  which  had  grown  with  her 
years,  redeemed  her  completely  from  the  gaucherie 
of  her  uncomfortable  age.  Her  features  had  gained 
in  strength,  and  lost  nothing  in  delicacy.  She  wore 
even  her  simple  clothes  with  the  nameless  grace  which 
must  surely  have  come  to  her  from  inheritance.  I 
spoke  to  her  then  seriously.  Yet  if  I  had  tried  I 
could  not  have  kept  the  kindness  from  my  tone. 

"  Dear  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  if  there  is  any  difference 
—  think!  A  year  ago  you  were  a  child.  To-day 


200  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

iyou  are  a  woman.  You  must  understand  that,  side 
by  side  with  the  pleasure  of  having  you  with  us 
—  the  greatest  pleasure  that  has  ever  come  into 
our  lives,  Isobel  —  has  come  a  certain  amount  of 
responsibility." 

"  I  am  becoming  a  trouble  to  you,  then !  "  she  ex- 
claimed breathlessly. 

"A  trouble,  Isobel!" 

I  suppose  I  weakened  for  a  moment.  Some  trick 
of  tone  or  expression  must  have  let  in  the  daylight, 
for  she  suddenly  held  out  her  hands  with  a  soft  little 
cry.  And  then  as  she  stood  there,  her  eyes  shining, 
the  old  delightful  smile  curving  her  lips,  the  door 
before  which  she  stood  was  thrown  open,  and  Arthur 
stood  there.  He  had  on  his  hat  and  coat,  and  I  saw 
at  once  that  he  was  not  himself.  His  cheeks  were 
flushed  with  anger,  and  he  looked  at  us  with  a  black 
frown. 

"  So  you  've  come  back,  then ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"Allan  and  I  got  tired  of  waiting.  Just  in  time  to 
say  good-bye,  Isobel.  I  'm  off !  " 

"  Off  ?  But  where  ?  "  she  asked,  looking  at  him 
in  surprise. 

I  left  them,  and  passed  on  into  our  studio  sitting- 
room,  where  Mabane  was  filling  his  pipe. 

"  What 's  the  matter  with  Arthur?  "  I  asked. 

"  Off  his  chump,"  Allan  answered  gravely.  "Don't 
take  any  notice  of  him." 

Isobel  and  he  were  still  talking  together.  Arthur's 
voice  was  a  little  raised  —  then  it  suddenly  dropped. 

"  I  think,"  Allan  said,  "  that  you  had  better  inter- 
fere. Arthur  has  lost  his  temper.  I  am  afraid '* 

"He  will  break  the  compact?"  I  exclaimed. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  201. 

"I  am  afraid  so!" 

I  stepped  back  into  the  little  hall.  They  were  talk- 
ing together  earnestly.  Arthur  looked  up  and  glared 
at  me. 

"  Arthur,"  I  said,  "  Allan  and  I  want  a  few  words 
with  you  before  you  go  —  if  you  are  going  out 
to-night." 

"  In  a  moment,"  he  answered.  "  I  have  something 
to  say  to  Isobel." 

But  Isobel  had  gone.  He  looked  for  a  moment 
at  the  door  of  her  room  through  which  she  had  van- 
ished, and  then  he  turned  on  his  heel  and  followed 
me.  He  threw  his  hat  upon  the  table  and  faced  us 
both  defiantly. 

"  It  is  I,"  he  said,  "  who  have  something  to  say 
to  you,  and  I  'd  like  to  get  it  over  quick.  D — n 
your  hypocritical  compact,  Arnold  Greatson !  There ! 
You  're  in  love  with  Isobel !  Any  fool  can  see  it. 
and  you  want  to  keep  the  child  all  to  yourself." 

Allan  took  a  quick  step  forward,  but  I  held  out 
my  hand. 

"Don't  interfere,  Allan,"  I  said.  "Let  him  say 
all  that  he  has  to  say." 

"  I  mean  to ! "  Arthur  continued,  "  and  I  hope 
you  '11  like  it.  The  compact  was  a  fraud  from  be- 
ginning to  end,  and  I  '11  have  no  more  to  do  with 
it.  Isobel 's  too  old  to  live  here  with  you  fellows, 
and  I  'm  going  to  ask  her  to  marry  me.  I  'm  going 
to  advise  her  to  go  and  stay  with  Lady  Delahaye, 
who  wants  her,  and  I  'm  going  to  marry  her  from 
there  if  she  '11  have  me." 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  I  repeated  thoughtfully.  "  You 
have  been  in  communication  with  her,  have  you?" 


'202  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Yes,  I  have !  And  I  think  she 's  right.  Isobel 
ought  to  have  some  women  friends.  She  may  have 
enemies,  but  I  'm  not  so  sure  about  that.  Lady 
Delahaye  is  n't  one  of  them,  at  any  rate.  The  people 
who  want  to  get  her  away  from  here  may  be  her  best 
friends,  after  all." 

"Is  that  all,  Arthur?" 

"It's  enough,  isn't  it?"  he  answered  doggedly. 

"  Quite !  Now  listen,"  I  said.  "  To-night  we  are 
going  to  hear  Isobel's  history.  We  are  going  to  know 
who  she  is,  and  all  about  her.  Stay  with  us,  and  you 
shall  share  the  knowledge.  As  for  the  rest,  you  have 
been  talking  like  a  fool.  We  do  not  wish  to  take  you 
seriously.  We  took  up  the  charge  of  Isobel  jointly. 
If  the  time  has  come  now  for  us  to  give  her  up,  I 
should  like  us  all  to  be  in  agreement.  It  is  very 
likely  that  the  time  has  come.  I,  too,  think  that  in 
many  ways  it  would  be  for  her  benefit.  We  are 
prepared  to  give  her  up  when  we  know  the  proper 
people  to  undertake  the  care  of  her  —  but  never, 
Arthur,  to  Lady  Delahaye." 

Arthur  smiled  slowly,  but  it  was  not  a  pleasant 
smile. 

"  Ah!  "  he  said,  "  I  forgot.  Lady  Delahaye  is  an 
old  friend  of  yours,  is  n't  she  ?  " 

"  Your  insinuations  are  childish,  Arthur,"  I  an- 
swered. "  Lady  Delahaye  is  an  old  friend  of  the 
Archduchess's,  and  their  interest  in  Isobel  is  iden- 
tical. For  many  reasons  I  am  going  to  know 
Isobel's  history  before  I  give  her  up  to  either  of 
them." 

"And  who  is  going  to  tell  it  to  you?"  he 
asked. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  203 

"  Feurgeres,"  I  answered.  "  He  sent  for  us  at  the 
theatre  to-night.  He  is  coming  on  here.'* 

There  was  a  sharp  tapping  at  the  door.  I  moved 
across  the  room  to  open  it.  Arthur  threw  his  hat 
upon  the  table. 

"  I  will  wait ! "  he  declared. 


204  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   XIII 

WE  all  knew  Isobel's  history.  It  had  taken 
barely  twenty  minutes  to  tell  it,  but  they 
had  been  twenty  minutes  of  tragedy.  We  were  all, 
I  think,  in  different  ways  affected.  Monsieur  Feur- 
geres  alone  sat  back  in  his  seat  like  a  carved  image, 
his  face  white  and  haggard,  his  deep-set  eyes  fixed 
upon  vacancy.  We  felt  that  he  had  passed  wholly 
away  from  the  world  of  present  things.  He  himself 
was  lingering  amongst  the  shadows  of  that  wonder- 
ful past,  upon  which  he  had  only  a  moment  before 
dropped  the  curtain.  He  had  told  us  to  ask  him 
questions,  but  I  for  my  part  felt  that  questions  just 
then  were  a  sacrilege.  Arthur,  however,  seemed  .to 
feel  nothing  of  this.  It  was  he  who  took  the  lead. 

"  Isobel,  then,"  he  said,  "  is  the  granddaughter  of 
the  King  of  Waldenburg,  the  only  child  of  his  eldest 
daughter!  Her  mother  was  divorced  from  her  hus- 
band, Prince  of  Herrshoff,  and  afterwards  married 
to  you.  What  about  her  father?" 

"  He  died  two  years  after  the  divorce  was  granted," 
Feurgeres  said  without  turning  his  head.  "  Isobel 
was  hurried  away  from  the  Court  through  the  influ- 
ence of  her  aunt,  the  Archduchess  of  Bristlaw,  and 
sent  to  a  convent  in  France.  It  was  not  intended 
that  she  should  ever  re-appear  at  the  Court  of 
Waldenburg." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  205 

"Why  not?" 

"  The  King  is  very  old,  and  he  is  the  richest  man 
in  Europe.  Isobel  is  the  daughter  of  his  eldest  and 
favourite  child.  The  Archduchess  also  has  a  daugh- 
ter, and,  failing  Isobel,  she  will  inherit." 

"  Has  the  King,"  I  asked,  "  taken  any  steps  to> 
discover  Isobel?  " 

"  He  has  been  told  that  she  is  dead,"  Feurgeres 
answered. 

We  were  all  silent  then  for  several  minutes.  The 
things  which  we  had  heard  were  strange  enough, 
but  they  let  in  a  flood  of  light  upon  all  the  events 
of  the  last  few  months.  It  was  Feurgeres  himself 
who  broke  in  upon  our  thoughts. 

"  Gentlemen,"  he  said,  "  there  is  another  thing 
which  I  must  tell  you." 

His  voice  was  very  low  but  firm.  He  had  turned 
in  his  chair,  and  was  facing  us  all.  His  eyes  were 
no  longer  vacant.  He  spoke  as  one  speaks  of  sacred 
things. 

"  All  Europe,"  he  said,  "  was  pleased  to  discuss 
what  was  called  the  elopement  of  the  Princess  Isobel 
with  Feurgeres  the  player.  The  gutter-press  of  the 
world  filled  their  columns  with  sensational  and  scan- 
dalous lies.  We  at  no  time  made  any  reply.  There 
was  no  need.  If  now  I  break  the  silence  of  years 
it  is  that  Isobel  shall  know  the  truth.  It  is  you,  Mr. 
Greatson,  who  will  tell  her  this,  and  many  other 
things.  Listen  carefully  to  what  I  say.  The  hus- 
band of  the  Princess  Isobel  was  a  blackguard,  a  man 
unfit  for  the  society  of  any  self-respecting  woman. 
She  was  living  in  misery  when  I  was  bidden  to  the 
Court  of  Waldenburg.  I  was  made  the  more  wel- 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

come  there,  perhaps,  because  I  myself  am  a  descend- 
ant of  an  ancient  and  honourable  French  family.  I 
met  the  Princess  Isobel  often,  and  we  grew  to  love 
each  other.  Of  the  struggle  which  ensued  between 
her  sense  of  duty  and  my  persuasions  I  say  nothing. 
She  was  a  highly  sensitive  and  very  intellectual 
woman,  and  she  had  a  profound  conviction  of  the 
unalienable  right  of  a  woman  to  live  out  her  life  to 
its  fullest  capacity,  to  gather  into  it  to  the  full  all 
that  is  best  and  greatest.  Her  position  at  Walden- 
burg  was  impossible.  I  proved  it  to  her.  I  pre- 
vailed. But " 

He  paused,  and  held  up  his  hand. 

"  The  whole  story  of  our  elopement  was  a  lie. 
There  was  no  elopement.  The  Princess  Isobel  left 
her  husband  accompanied  only  by  a  maid  and  a  lady- 
in-waiting.  They  lived  quietly  in  Paris  until  her 
husband  procured  his  divorce.  Then  we  were  mar- 
ried, but  until  then  we  had  not  met  since  our  parting 
at  Waldenburg.  Isobel's  mother  was  ever  a  pure 
and  holy  woman.  Let  Isobel  know  that.  Let  her 
know  that  the  greatest  and  most  wonderful  sacrifice 
a  woman  ever  made  was  surely  hers  —  when  she 
denied  herself  her  own  daughter  lest  the  merest 
shadow  of  shame  should  rest  upon  her  in  later  years. 
It  is  for  that  same  reason  that  I  myself  have  kept 
away  from  Isobel.  I  have  watched  over  her  always, 
but  at  a  distance.  That  is  why  I  am  content  to 
stand  aside  even  now  and  yield  up  my  place  to 
strangers." 

It  was  Arthur  again  who  questioned  him. 

"  Mr.  Feurgeres,"  he  said,  "  you  have  told  us 
wonderful  things  about  Isobel.  You  have  told  us 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  207 

wonderful  things  about  the  past,  but  you  have  not 
spoken  at  all  about  the  future.  Is  it  your  wish  that 
she  returns  to  Waldenburg,  or  is  she  to  remain 
Isobel  de  Sorrens  ?  " 

Feurgeres  turned  his  head  and  looked  searchingly 
at  Arthur.  The  boy's  face  was  flushed  with  excite- 
ment. He  made  no  effort  to  conceal  his  great  in- 
terest. Feurgeres  looked  at  him  steadfastly,  and  it 
was  long  before  he  spoke. 

"  You  are  asking  me,"  he  said  slowly,  "  the  very 
question  which  I  have  been  asking  myself  for  a  long 
time.  Isobel's  proper  place  is  at  Waldenburg,  and 
yet  there  are  many  and  grave  reasons  why  I  dread 
her  going  there.  The  King  is  an  old  man,  the  Court 
is  ruled  by  the  Archduchess,  a  hard,  unscrupulous 
woman.  Already  she  has  schemed  to  get  the  child 
into  her  power.  I  dread  the  thought  of  her  there, 
alone  and  friendless.  Her  mother  spoke  of  this  to 
me  upon  her  deathbed.  She  shrank  always  from 
the  idea  that  even  the  shadow  of  those  hideous 
calumnies  which  oppressed  her  own  life  should 
darken  a  single  moment  of  Isobel's.  I  believe  that 
if  she  were  here  at  this  moment  she  would  place  the 
two  issues  before  her  and  bid  her  take  her  choice. 
I  think  that  it  is  what  we  must  do." 

Arthur  stood  up.  He  looked  very  eager  and  hand- 
some, though  a  little  boyish. 

"  Monsieur  Feurgeres,"  he  said,  "  I  love  Isobel. 
Give  her  to  me,  and  I  will  look  after  her  future.  I 
am  not  rich,  but  I  will  make  a  home  for  her.  She 
is  too  old  to  stay  here  with  us  any  longer.  I  will 
make  her  happy !  Indeed  I  will !  " 

Monsieur  Feurgeres  looked  back  at  that  vacant 


208  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

spot  upon  the  wall,  and  was  silent  for  some  time. 
It  was  impossible  to  gather  anything  from  his  face, 
though  Arthur  watched  him  fixedly  all  the  time. 

"  And  Isobel  ?  "  he  asked  at  length. 

"  I  have  not  spoken  to  her,"  Arthur  said.  "  There 
was  a  compact  between  us  that  we  should  not  whilst 
she  was  under  our  care." 

Monsieur  Feurgeres  turned  to  me. 

"  That  sounds  like  a  compact  of  your  making, 
Arnold  Greatson,"  he  said.  "  What  am  I  to  say 
to  your  friend?" 

"  It  is  surely,"  I  said,  "  for  Isobel  to  decide.  It 
is  only  another  issue  to  be  placed  before  her  with 
those  others  of  which  you  have  spoken.  You  say 
that  you  must  leave  for  St.  Petersburg  to-morrow. 
,Will  you  see  her  now  ?  " 

He  shook  his  head.  I  might  almost  have  imagined 
him  indifferent  but  for  the  sudden  twitching  of  his 
lips,  the  almost  pitiful  craving  which  flashed  out  for 
a  moment  from  his  deep-set  eyes.  These  were  signs 
which  came  and  went  so  quickly  that  I  doubt  if 
either  of  the  others  observed  them.  But  I  at  least 
understood. 

"  I  will  not  see  her  at  all,"  he  said.  "  It  is  better 
that  I  should  not.  If  she  should  decide  upon  Walden- 
burg,  the  less  she  has  seen  of  me  the  better.  I  leave 
it  to  you,  Arnold  Greatson,  to  put  these  matters 
faithfully  before  Isobel.  I  claim  no  guardianship 
over  her.  Her  mother's  sole  desire  was  that  when 
she  had  reached  her  present  age  the  whole  truth 
should  be  placed  before  her,  and  she  should  decide 
exactly  as  she  thought  best.  That  is  my  charge  upon 
you,"  he  continued,  looking  me  steadfastly  in  the  face, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  209 

"  and  I  know  that  you  will  fulfil  it.  I  shall  send  you 
my  address  in  case  it  is  necessary  to  communicate 
with  me." 

He  rose  to  his  feet,  prepared  for  departure.  Arthur 
intercepted  him. 

"  If  Isobel  will  have  me,  then,"  he  said,  "  you  will 
not  object?  " 

"  Isobel  shall  make  her  own  choice  of  these  various 
issues,"  he  answered.  "  I  claim  no  guardianship  over 
her  at  all.  If  any  further  decision  has  to  be  given, 
you  must  look  to  Mr.  Greatson." 

Arthur  did  look  at  me,  but  his  eyes  fell  quickly. 
He  turned  once  more  to  Monsieur  Feurgeres. 

"  Whether  you  claim  it  or  not,"  he  said,  "  you  are 
really  her  guardian,  not  Arnold.  I  shall  tell  her  that 
you  left  her  free  to  choose." 

"  I  have  said  all  that  I  have  to  say,"  Monsieur 
Feurgeres  replied.  "  Except  this  to  you,  Mr.  Great- 
son,"  he  added,  turning  to  me.  "  You  can  have  no 
longer  any  hesitation  in  using  the  money  which 
stands  in  Isobel's  name  at  the  National  Bank.  You 
will  find  that  it  has  accumulated,  and  I  have  also- 
added  to  it.  Isobel  will  always  be  reasonably  well 
off,  for  I  have  left  all  that  I  myself  possess  to  her, 
with  the  exception  of  one  legacy." 

Without  any  further  form  of  farewell  he  passed 
away  from  us.  It  was  so  obviously  his  wish  to  be 
allowed  to  depart  that  we  none  of  us  cared  to  stop 
him.  Then  we  all  three  looked  at  one  another. 

"  To-morrow,"  Mabane  said,  "  you  must  tell 
Isobel." 

"Why  not  to-night?"  Arthur  interposed. 

"Why  not  to-night,  indeed?"  Isobel's  soft  voice 


210  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

asked.  "  If,  indeed,  there  is  anything  more  to 
tell." 

We  were  all  thunderstruck  as  she  glided  out  from 
behind  the  screen  which  shielded  the  inner  door,  the 
door  which  led  to  her  room.  It  needed  only  a  single 
glance  into  her  face  to  assure  us  that  she  knew  every- 
thing. Her  eyes  were  still  soft  with  tears,  shining 
like  stars  as  she  stood  and  looked  at  me  across  the 
floor;  her  cheeks  were  pale,  and  her  lips  were  still 
^quivering. 

"  I  heard  my  name,"  she  said.  "  The  door  was 
unfastened,  so  I  stole  out.  And  I  think  that  I  am 
glad  I  did.  I  had  a  right  to  know  all  that  I  have 
heard.  It  is  very  wonderful.  I  keep  thinking  and 
thinking,  and  even  now  I  cannot  realize." 

"  You  heard  everything,  Isobel?"  Arthur  exclaimed 
meaningly. 

"  Everything !  "  she  answered,  her  eyes  suddenly 
seeking  the  carpet.  "  I  thank  you  all  for  what  you 
have  said  and  done  for  me.  To-morrow,  I  think,  I 
shall  know  better  how  I  feel  about  these  things." 

"  Quite  right,  Isobel,"  Allan  said  quietly.  "  There 
are  great  issues  before  you,  and  you  should  live  with 
them  for  a  little  while.  Do  not  decide  anything 
hastily!" 

Arthur  pressed  forward  to  her  side. 

"  You  will  give  me  your  hand,  Isobel  ?  "  he  pleaded. 
"  You  will  say  good-night?  " 

She  gave  it  to  him  passively.  He  raised  it  to  his 
lips.  It  was  his  active  pronouncement  of  himself  as 
her  suitor.  I  watched  her  closely,  and  so  did  Allan. 
But  she  gave  no  sign.  She  held  out  her  hand  to  us, 
too  —  a  cold,  sad  little  hand  it  felt  —  and  turned 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  211 

away.  There  was  something  curiously  subdued  about 
her  movements  as  well  as  her  silence  as  she  passed 
out  of  sight. 

Arthur  took  up  his  hat.  He  was  nervous  and 
uneasy.  His  tone  was  almost  threatening. 

"  I  shall  be  here  early  in  the  morning,"  he  said. 
"  I  suppose  you  will  allow  me  to  see  Isobel  ?  " 

"  By  all  means,"  I  answered.  "  As  things  are  now 
you  need  not  go  away  unless  you  like.  Your  room 
is  still  empty.  Our  compact  is  at  an  end.  Stay  if 
you  will." 

He  hesitated  for  a  moment,  and  then  threw  down 
his  hat.  He  sank  into  an  easy  chair,  and  covered 
his  face  with  his  hands. 

"  I  've  been  a  beast,  I  know !  "  he  half  sobbed.  "  I 
can't  help  it.  Isobel  is  everything  in  the  world  to  me. 
You  fellows  can't  imagine  how  I  care  for  her." 

I  laid  my  hand  upon  his  shoulder  —  a  little  wearily, 
perhaps,  though  I  tried  to  infuse  some  sympathy  into 
my  tone. 

"  Cheer  up,  Arthur !  "  I  said.  "  You  have  your 
chance.  Don't  make  a  trouble  of  it  yet." 

Arthur  shook  his  head  despondently. 

"  I  think,"  he  said,  "  that  she  will  go  to  Walden- 
burg!" 


Book  III 


CHAPTER   I 

ARTHUR  flung  himself  into  the  room  pale, 
hollow-eyed,  the  picture  of  despair. 

"  Any  news?  "  he  cried,  hopelessly  enough,  for  he 
had  seen  my  face. 

"  None,"  I  answered. 

"  Anything  from  Feurgeres  ?  " 

"  Not  yet." 

"  Tell  me  again  —  where  did  you  telegraph 
him?" 

"Dover,  Calais,  Paris,  Ostend,  Brussels,  Cologne!" 

"And  no  reply?" 

"  As  yet  none." 

"  Let  us  look  again  at  the  note  you  found." 

I  smoothed  it  out  upon  the  table.  We  had  read  it 
many  times. 

"  There  is  something  else  which  I  must  tell  you  before 
I  leave  England.  Come  to  me  at  once.  The  bearer  will 
bring  you.  Come  alone. 

"HENRI  FEURGERES. 

"  P.  S.  —  You  will  be  back  in  an  hour.  Disturb  no 
one.  It  is  possible  that  I  may  ask  you  to  keep  secret 
what  I  have  to  say." 

"  This  note,"  I  remarked,  tapping  it  with  my  fore- 
finger, "  was  taken  in  to  Isobel  by  Mrs.  Burdett  at 
a  quarter  to  eight.  It  was  brought,  she  said,  by  a 


216  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

respectable  middle-aged  woman,  with  whom  Isobel 
left  the  place  soon  after  eight.  We  heard  of  this  an 
hour  later.  At  eleven  o'clock  we  began  the  search 
for  Monsieur  Feurgeres.  At  three,  Allan  discovered 
that  he  had  left  the  Savoy  Hotel  at  ten  for  St.  Peters- 
burg. Since  then  we  have  sent  seven  telegrams,  the 
delivery  of  which  is  very  problematical  —  and  we 
have  heard  —  nothing !  " 

Allan  laid  his  hand  gently  upon  my  shoulder. 

"  We  may  get  a  reply  from  Feurgeres  at  any 
moment,"  he  said,  "  but  there  will  be  no  news  of 
Isobel.  That  note  is  a  forgery,  Arnold." 

"  I  am  afraid  it  is,"  I  admitted.  "  Feurgeres  was 
a  man  of  his  word.  He  would  never  have  sent  for 
Isobel." 

"  Then  she  is  lost  to  us,"  Arthur  groaned. 

I  caught  up  my  hat  and  coat. 

"  Not  yet,"  I  said.  "  I  will  go  and  see  what  Lady 
Delahaye  has  to  say  about  this.  It  can  do  no  harm, 
at  any  rate." 

"  Shall  I  come  ?  "  Arthur  asked,  half  rising  from 
his  chair. 

"  I  would  rather  go  alone,"  I  answered. 

The  butler,  who  knew  me  by  sight,  was  courteous 
but  doubtful. 

"  Her  ladyship  has  been  receiving  all  the  after- 
noon," he  told  me,  "  but  I  believe  that  she  has  gone 
to  her  rooms  now.  Her  ladyship  dines  early  to-night 
because  of  the  opera.  I  will  send  your  name  up  if 
you  like,  sir." 

I  walked  restlessly  up  and  down  the  hall  for  ten 
minutes.  Then  a  lady's  maid  suddenly  appeared 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  217 

through  a  green  baize  door  and  beckoned  me  to  follow 
her. 

"  Her  ladyship  will  see  you  upstairs,  sir,  if  you 
will  come  this  way,"  she  announced. 

I  followed  her  into  a  little  boudoir.  Lady  Dela- 
haye,  in  a  blue  dressing-gown,  was  lying  upon  a 
sofa.  She  eyed  me  as  I  entered  with  a  curious 
smile. 

;'  This  is  indeed  an  unexpected  pleasure,"  she 
murmured.  "  Do  sit  down  somewhere.  It  is  long 
past  my  hour  of  receiving,  and  I  am  just  getting 
ready  for  dinner,  but  I  positively  could  not  send  you 
away.  Now,  please,  tell  me  all  about  it." 

"  You  know  why  I  have  come,  then?  "  I  remarked. 

"  My  dear  man,  I  have  n't  the  least  idea,"  she  pro- 
tested. "  It  is  sheer  unadulterated  curiosity  which 
made  me  send  Perkins  for  you  up  here.  We  're  not 
at  all  upon  the-  sort  of  terms,  you  know,"  she  added, 
looking  up»at  me  with  her  big  blue  eyes,  "  for  this  sort 
of  thing." 

"  Isobel  left  us  this  morning!"  I  said  bluntly. 
"  She  received  a  note  signed  Feurgeres,  which  I  am 
sure  was  a  forgery.  She  left  us  at  eight  o'clock,  and 
she  has  not  returned." 

Lady  Delahaye  looked  at  me  with  a  faint  smile. 
Her  expression  puzzled  me.  I  was  not  even  able  to 
guess  at  the  thoughts  which  lay  underneath  her  words. 

"  How  anxious  you  must  be,"  she  murmured.  "  Do 
you  know,  I  always  wondered  whether  Isobel  would 
not  some  day  weary  of  your  milk-and-water  Bohe- 
mianism.  Your  Scotch  friend  is  worthy,  no  doubt, 
but  dull,  and  the  boy  was  too  hopelessly  in  love  to  be 
amusing.  And  as  for  you  —  well  —  you  would  do 


218  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

very  nicely,  no  doubt,  my  dear  Arnold,  but  you  are 
too  stuffed  up  with  principles  for  a  girl  of  Isobel's 
antecedents.  So  she  has  cut  the  Gordian  knot  herself ! 
Well,  lam  sorry!" 

"  You  are  sorry !  "  I  repeated.    "  Why  ?  " 

She  smiled  sweetly  at  me. 

"  Because  my  dear  friend  has  promised  me  that 
wonderful  emerald  necklace  if  I  could  get  the  child 
away  from  you,  and  I  think  that  very  soon,  with  the 
help  of  that  stupid  boy,  I  should  have  succeeded," 
she  said  regretfully.  "  Such  emeralds,  Arnold !  and 
you  know  how  anything  green  suits  me." 

"  You  do  not  doubt,  then,  but  that  it  is  the  Arch- 
duchess who  has  done  this  ?  "  I  said. 

Lady  Delahaye  lifted  her  eyebrows. 

"  Either  the  Archduchess,  or  Isobel  has  walked  off 
of  her  own  sweet  will,"  she  remarked  calmly.  "  In 
any  case  you  have  lost  the  child,  and  I  have  lost 
my  necklace.  I  positively  cannot  risk  losing  my 
dinner  too,"  she  added,  with  a  glance  at  the  clock, 
"  so  I  am  afraid  —  I  am  so  sorry,  but  I  must  ask 
you  to  go  away.  Come  and  see  me  again,  won't 
you?  Perhaps  we  can  be  friends  again  now  that 
this  bone  of  contention  is  removed." 

"  I  have  never  desired  anything  else,  Lady  Dela- 
haye," I  said.  "  But  if  my  friendship  is  really  of 
any  value  to  you,  if  you  would  care  to  earn  my 
deepest  gratitude,  you  could  easily  do  so." 

"  Really !    In  what  manner  ?  " 

"  By  helping  me  to  regain  possession  of  the  child." 

She  laughed  at  me,  softly  at  first,  and  then  with- 
out restraint.  Finally  she  rang  the  bell. 

"  My  dear  Arnold,"  she  exclaimed,  wiping  her 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  519 

eyes,  "  you  are  really  too  naive !  You  amuse  me 
more  than  I  can  tell  you.  My  maid  will  show  you 
the  way  downstairs.  Do  come  and  see  me  again 
soon.  Good-bye!" 

So  that  was  the  end  of  any  hope  we  may  have 
had  of  help  from  Lady  Delahaye.  I  called  a  hansom 
outside  and  drove  at  once  to  Blenheim  House,  the 
temporary  residence  of  the  Archduchess  and  her 
suite.  A  footman  passed  me  on  to  a  more  important 
person  who  was  sitting  at  a  round  table  in  the  hall 
with  a  visitor's  book  open  before  him.  I  explained 
to  him  my  desire  to  obtain  a  few  moments'  audience 
with  the  Archduchess,  but  he  only  smiled  and  shook 
his  head. 

"  It  is  quite  impossible  for  her  Highness  to  see 
anyone  now  before  her  departure,  sir,"  he  said.  "  If 
you  are  connected  with  the  Press,  I  can  only  tell  you 
what  I  have  told  all  the  others.  We  have  received 
a  telegram  from  Illghera  with  grave  news  concern- 
ing the  health  of  his  Majesty  the  King  of  Walden- 
burg,  and  notwithstanding  the  indisposition  of  the 
Princess  Adelaide,  the  Archduchess  has  arranged  to 
leave  for  Illghera  at  once.  A  fuller  explanation  will 
appear  in  the  Court  Circular,  and  the  Archduchess 
is  particularly  anxious  to  express  her  great  regret  to 
all  those  whom  the  cancellation  of  her  engagements 
may  inconvenience.  Good-day,  sir !  " 

The  man  recommenced  his  task,  which  was  appar- 
ently the  copying  out  of  a  list  of  names  from  the 
visitor's  book,  and  signed  to  the  footman  with  his 
penholder  to  show  me  out.  But  I  stood  my  ground. 

"  You  are  leaving  to-day,  then  ?  "  I  said. 

"  ,We  are  leaving  to-day,"  the  man  assented,  with- 


220  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

out  glancing  up  from  his  task.  "  We  are  naturally 
very  busy." 

"  Can  I  see  the  Baron  von  Leibingen  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  It  is  quite  impossible,  sir,"  the  man  answered 
shortly.  "  He  is  engaged  with  her  Highness." 

"  I  will  wait!  "  I  declared. 

"  Then  I  must  trouble  you,  sir,  to  wait  outside," 
he  said,  with  a  little  gesture  of  impatience.  "  I  do 
not  wish  to  seem  uncivil,  but  my  orders  to-day  are 
peremptory." 

At  that  moment  a  door  opened  and  a  man  came 
across  the  hall,  slowly  drawing  on  his  gloves.  I 
looked  up  and  saw  the  Baron  von  Leibingen.  He 
recognized  me  at  once,  and  bowed  courteously.  At 
the  same  time  there  was  something  in  his  manner 
which  gave  me  the  impression  that  he  was  not  alto- 
gether pleased  to  see  me. 

"  Is  there  anything  I  can  do  for  you,  Mr.  Great- 
son?"  he  asked,  pausing  for  a  moment  by  my  side. 

"  I  am  anxious  to  obtain  five  minutes'  interview 
with  the  Archduchess,"  I  answered.  "  If  you  could 
manage  that  for  me  I  should  be  exceedingly  obliged." 

He  shook  his  head. 

"  It  is  quite  impossible ! "  he  said  decisively. 
"  You  have  heard  of  the  serious  news  from  Illghera, 
without  doubt.  We  shall  be  on  our  way  there  in  a 
few  hours." 

I  drew  him  a  little  on  one  side. 

"  Is  Isobel  here,  Baron  ?  "  I  asked  bluntly. 

"  I  beg  your  pardon  —  is  who  here  ?  "  he  inquired, 
with  the  air  of  one  who  is  puzzled  by  an  incompre- 
hensible question. 

"  Isobel  —  the  Princess  Isobel,  if  you  like  —  has 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  221 

been  lured  from  our  care  by  a  forged  message.  We 
know  her  history  now,  and  we  are  able  to  under- 
stand the  nature  of  the  interest  which  your  mistress 
has  shown  in  her.  Therefore,  when  I  find  her  miss- 
ing I  come  to  you.  I  want  to  know  if  she  is  in  this 
house." 

"  If  she  were,"  the  Baron  remarked,  "  I,  and  every- 
one else  who  knows  anything  about  it,  would  say  at 
once  that  she  was  in  her  proper  place.  If  she  were, 
I  should  most  earnestly  advise  the  Archduchess  to 
keep  her  here.  But  I  regret  to  say  that  she  is  not. 
To  tell  you  the  truth,  the  Archduchess  is  so  annoyed 
at  the  young  lady's  refusal  to  accept  her  protection, 
that  she  has  lost  all  interest  in  her.  I  doubt  whether 
she  would  receive  her  now  if  she  came." 

"  Perhaps,"  I  remarked  slowly,  "  she  has  gone  to 
Illghera." 

"  It  is,  of  course,"  the  Baron  agreed,  "  not  an 
impossibility." 

"  If  I  do  not  succeed  in  my  search,"  I  said,  "  it  is 
to  Illghera  that  I  shall  come." 

"  You  will  find  it,"  the  Baron  assured  me,  with 
a  smile,  "  a  most  charming  place.  I  shall  be  de- 
lighted to  renew  our  acquaintance  there." 

"  His  Majesty,"  I  continued,  "  is,  I  have  heard, 
very  accessible.  I  shall  be  able  to  tell  him  Isobel's 
story.  You  may  keep  the  child  away  from  him, 
Baron,  but  you  cannot  prevent  his  learning  the  fact 
of  her  existence  and  her  history." 

"  My  young  friend,"  the  Baron  answered,  edging 
his  way  towards  the  door,  "  your  enigmas  at  another 
time  would  be  most  interesting.  But  at  present  I 
have  affairs  on  hand,  and  I  am  pressed  for  time. 


222  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

I  will  permit  myself  to  say,  however,  that  you  are 
altogether  deceiving  yourself.  It  was  the  one  wish 
of  the  Archduchess  to  have  taken  Isobel  to  her 
grandfather  and  begged  him  to  recognize  her." 

"  You  decline  to  meet  me  fairly,  then  —  to  tell 
me  the  truth?  Mind,  I  firmly  believe  that  Isobel  is 
now  under  your  control.  I  shall  not  rest  until  I  have 
discovered  her." 

"  Then  you  may  discover,  my  young  friend,"  the 
Baron  said,  putting  on  his  hat,  and  turning  resolutely 
away,  "  the  true  meaning  of  the  word  weariness. 
You  are  a  fool  to  ask  me  any  questions  at  all.  We 
are  on  opposite  sides.  If  I  knew  where  the  child  was 
you  are  the  last  person  whom  I  should  tell.  Her 
place  is  anywhere  —  save  with  you !  " 

He  bowed  and  turned  away,  whispering  as  he 
passed  to  a  footman,  who  at  once  approached  me. 
I  allowed  myself  to  be  shown  out.  As  a  matter  of 
fact,  I  had  no  alternative.  But  on  the  steps  was  an 
English  servant  in  the  Blenheim  livery.  I  slipped 
half  a  sovereign  into  his  hand. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  what  time  the  Archduchess 
leaves,  and  from  what  station  ?  "  I  asked. 

"  I  am  not  quite  sure  about  the  time,  sir,"  the  man 
answered,  "  but  the  'buses  are  ordered  from  Charing 
Cross,  and  they  are  to  be  here  at  eight  to-night." 

It  was  already  past  seven.  I  lit  a  cigarette  and 
strolled  on  towards  the  station. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  223 


CHAPTER   II 

AT  Charing  Cross  station  a  strange  thing  hap- 
pened. The  Continental  train  arrived  whilst 
I  was  sauntering  about  the  platform,  and  out  of  itr 
within  a  few  feet  of  me,  stepped  Feurgeres.  He  was 
pale  and  haggard,  and  he  leaned  heavily  upon  the 
arm  of  his  servant  as  he  stepped  out  of  his  carriage. 
When  he  saw  me,  however,  he  held  out  his  hand  and 
smiled. 

"  You  expected  me,  then  ?  "  he  exclaimed. 

"  Not  I,"  I  answered.  "You  have  taken  my  breatli 
away." 

"  I  had  your  telegram  at  Brussels,"  he  explained- 
"  I  wired  St.  Petersburg  at  once,  and  turned  back. 
Any  news  ?  " 

"  None,"  I  answered. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

I  told  him  in  a  few  rapid  words.  He  listened 
intently,  nodding  his  head  every  now  and  then. 

"  The  Archduchess  has  her,"  he  said,  "  and  if  only 
one  of  us  had  the  ghost  of  a  legal  claim  upon  the 
child  our  difficulties  would  end.  She  is  an  unscrupu- 
lous woman,  but  there  are  things  which  even  she  dare 
not  do.  What  are  they  doing  over  there?" 

He  pointed  to  the  next  platform.  I  took  him  by 
the  arm  and  dragged  him  along. 


224  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  It  is  the  special !  "  I  exclaimed.  "  We  must  see 
them  start." 

Red  drugget  was  being  stretched  across  the  plat- 
form, and  to  my  dismay  the  barricades  were  rolled 
across.  The  luggage  was  already  in  the  van,  and 
the  guard  was  looking  at  his  watch.  Then  a  small 
brougham  drove  rapidly  up  and  stopped  opposite  to 
the  saloon.  Baron  von  Leibingen  descended,  and  was 
immediately  followed  by  the  Archduchess.  Together 
they  helped  from  the  carriage  and  across  the  platform 
a  dark,  tall  girl,  at  the  first  sight  of  whom  my  heart 
began  to  beat  wildly.  Then  I  remembered  the  like- 
ness between  the  cousins  and  what  I  had  heard  of  the 
Princess  Adelaide's  indisposition.  She  was  almost 
•carried  into  the  saloon,  and  at  the  last  moment  she 
looked  swiftly,  almost  fearfully,  around  her.  I  could 
scarcely  contain  myself.  The  likeness  was  marvel- 
lous! As  the  train  steamed  out  of  the  station  Feur- 
geres pushed  aside  the  barricade  and  walked  straight 
up  to  the  station-master. 

"  I  want  a  special,"  he  said,  "  to  catch  the  boat.  I 
.am  Feurgeres,  and  I  am  due  at  Petersburg  Wednes- 
day." 

The  station-master  shook  his  head. 

"  You  can  have  a  special,  sir,  in  twenty  minutes, 
but  you  cannot  catch  the  boat.  The  one  I  have  just 
sent  off  would  never  do  it,  but  the  boat  has  a  Royal 
command  to  wait  for  her." 

"  Can't  you  give  me  an  engine  which  will  make  up 
the  twenty  minutes  ?  "  Feurgeres  asked. 

"  It  is  impossible,  sir,"  the  station-master  answered. 
"  We  have  not  an  engine  built  which  would  come 
within  ten  miles  an  hour  of  that  one." 


"  Very  good,"  Feurgeres  said.  "  I  will  have  the 
special,  at  any  rate.  Be  so  good  as  to  give  your 
orders  at  once." 

"  You  will  gain  nothing  if  you  want  to  get  on, 
sir,"  the  station-master  remarked.  "  An  ordinary 
train  will  leave  here  in  two  hours,  which  will  catch 
the  next  boat." 

"  The  special  in  twenty  minutes,"  Feurgeres  an- 
swered sharply.  "  Forty  pounds,  is  it  not  ?  It  is. 
here!" 

The  station-master  hurried  away.  I  scarcely 
understood  Feurgeres'  haste  to  reach  Dover.  When 
I  told  him  so  he  only  laughed  and  led  me  away 
towards  the  refreshment-room.  He  ordered  luncheon 
baskets  to  be  sent  out  to  the  train,  and  he  made  me 
drink  a  brandy-and-soda.  Then  he  took  me  by  the 
arm. 

"  You  are  not  much  of  a  conspirator,  my  friend, 
Arnold  Greatson,"  he  said.  . "  You  have  been  within 
a  dozen  yards  of  Isobel  within  the  last  few  minutes,, 
and  you  have  not  recognized  her." 

I  stopped  short.  That  wonderful  likeness  flashed 
once  more  back  upon  my  mind.  Certainly  in  the 
Mordaunt  Rooms  it  had  not  been  so  noticeable.  And 
her  eyes !  I  looked  at  Feurgeres,  and  he  nodded. 

"  The  Princess  Adelaide  either  remains  in  Eng- 
land or  has  gone  on  quietly  ahead,"  he  said.  "  They 
have  dressed  Isobel  in  her  clothes,  and  the  general 
public  could  never  tell  the  difference.  You  see  how 
difficult  they  have  made  it  for  us  to  approach  her. 
They  will  be  hedged  around  like  this  all  across  the 
Continent.  Oh,  it  was  a  very  clever  move !  " 

I  scarcely  answered  him.  My  eyes  were  fixed 
15 


226  THE    MASTER   MUMMER 

upon  the  tangled  wilderness  of  red  and  green  lights, 
amongst  which  that  train  had  disappeared.  What 
had  they  done  to  her,  these  people,  that  she  should 
scarcely  have  been  able  to  crawl  across  the  platform  ? 
What  had  they  done  to  make  her  accept  their  bidding, 
and  leave  England  without  a  word  or  message  to  any 
of  us?  It  had  not  been  of  her  own  choice,  I  was 
.sure  enough  of  that. 

"  Come !  "  Feurgeres  said  quietly. 

I  followed  him  to  the  platform,  where  the  saloon 
carriage  and  engine  were  already  drawn  up.  Feur- 
geres brought  with  him  his  servant  and  all  his  lug- 
gage. A  few  curious  porters  and  bystanders  saw  us 
start.  No  one,  however,  manifested  any  particular 
interest  in  us.  There  was  no  one  whose  business  it 
seemed  to  be  to  watch  us. 

I  sat  back  in  my  corner  and  looked  out  into  the 
darkness.  Feurgeres,  opposite  to  me,  was  leaning 
back  with  half-closed  eyes.  From  his  soft,  regular 
breathing  it  seemed  almost  as  though  he  slept.  For 
me  there  was  no  thought  of  rest  or  sleep.  I  made 
plans  only  to  discard  them,  rehearsed  speeches,  ap- 
peals, threats,  only  to  realize  their  hopeless  ineffec- 
tiveness. And  underneath  it  all  was  a  dull  constant 
pain,  the  pain  which  stays. 

Our  journey  was  about  three-parts  over  when 
Feurgeres  suddenly  sat  up  in  his  seat,  and  opening 
his  dressing-case,  drew  out  a  Continental  time- 
table. 

"  In  a  sense  that  station-master  was  right,"  he 
remarked,  »turning  over  the  leaves.  "  We  shall  not 
reach  Paris  any  the  sooner  for  taking  this  special 
train.  On  the  other  hand,  we  shall  have  time  to 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  227 

ascertain  in  Dover  whether  our  friends  really  have 
gone  on  to  Calais,  or  whether  they  by  any  chance 
changed  their  minds  and  took  the  Ostend  boat.  I 
sincerely  trust  that  that  course  will  not  have  pre- 
sented itself  to  them." 

"Why?"  I  asked. 

"  Somewhere  on  the  journey,"  he  remarked,  "  they 
must  pause.  They  will  have  to  exchange  Isobel  for 
the  Princess  Adelaide,  and  make  their  plans  for  the 
disposal  of  Isobel.  If  they  should  do  this,  say,  in 
Brussels,  we  shall  be  at  a  great  disadvantage.  If, 
however,  they  should  stay  in  Paris,  we  should  be  in 
a  different  position  altogether.  The  chief  of  the 
police  is  my  friend.  I  am  known  there,  and  can 
command  as  good  service  as  the  Archduchess  her- 
self. We  must  hope  that  it  will  be  Paris.  If  so,  we 
shall  arrive  —  let  me  see,  six  hours  behind  them; 
but  supposing  they  do  break  their  connection,  we 
shall  have  still  five  hours  in  Paris  with  them  before 
they  can  get  on.  If  they  are  cautious  they  will  go 
to  Illghera  via  Brussels  and  their  own  country.  If, 
however,  they  do  not  seriously  regard  the  matter  of 
pursuit  they  will  go  direct." 

A  few  moments  later  we  came  to  a  standstill  in 
the  town  station.  Feurgeres  let  down  the  window, 
and  talked  for  a  few  minutes  with  the  station-master. 
Then  he  resumed  his  seat. 

"  We  will  go  on  to  the  quay,"  he  said.  "  It  is 
almost  certain  that  our  friends  left  by  the  Paris  boat. 
We  shall  have  four  hours  to  wait,  but  we  can  secure 
our  cabins,  and  perhaps  sleep." 

We  moved  slowly  on  to  the  quay.  A  few  en- 
quiries there  completely  assured  us.  Midway  across 


228  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

the  Channel,  plainly  visible  still,  was  a  disappearing 
green  light. 

"  That 's  the  Marie  Louise,  sir,"  a  seaman  told  me. 
"  Left  here  five  and  twenty  minutes  ago.  The  parties 
you  were  enquiring  about  boarded  her  right  enough. 
The  young  lady  had  almost  to  be  carried.  She  's  the 
new  turbine  boat,  and  she  ought  to  be  across  in  about 
half  an  hour  from  now." 

Monsieur  Feurgeres  engaged  the  best  cabin  on  the 
steamer,  and  his  servant  fitted  me  up  a  dressing-case 
with  necessaries  for  the  journey  from  his  master's 
ample  store.  Then  we  went  into  the  saloon,  and  had 
some  supper.  Afterwards  we  stood  upon  deck  watch- 
ing the  passengers  come  on  board  from  the  train 
which  had  just  arrived.  Suddenly  I  seized  Feurgeres 
by  the  arm  and  dragged  him  inside  the  cabin. 

"  The  Princess  Adelaide !  "  I  exclaimed.    "  Look !  " 

We  saw  her  distinctly  from  the  window.  She  was 
dressed  very  plainly,  and  wore  a  heavy  veil  which  she 
had  just  raised.  She  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  us, 
talking  to  the  maid,  who  seemed  to  be  her  sole 
companion. 

"  Find  my  cabin,  Mason,"  she  ordered.  "  I  shall 
lie  down  directly  we  start.  I  am  always  ill  upon 
these  wretched  night  boats.  It  is  a  most  unpleasant 
arrangement,  this." 

Feurgeres  looked  at  me  and  smiled. 

"  Isobel's  features,"  he  remarked,  "  but  not  her 
voice.  You  see,  we  are  on  the  right  track.  We  must 
contrive  to  keep  out  of  that  young  lady's  way." 

To  keep  out  of  the  way  of  the  Princess  Adelaide 
was  easy  enough,  presuming  that  she  kept  her  word 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  229 

and  remained  in  her  cabin.  I  watched  her  enter  it 
and  close  the  door.  Afterwards  I  wrapped  myself 
in  an  ulster  of  Feurgeres'  and  went  out  on  deck.  It 
was  a  fine  night,  but  windy,  and  a  little  dark.  I  lit 
a  pipe  and  leaned  over  the  side.  I  had  scarcely  been 
there  two  minutes  when  I  heard  a  light  footstep  com- 
ing along  the  deck  and  pause  a  few  feet  away.  A 
girl's  voice  addressed  me. 

"  Can  you  tell  me  what  that  light  is?" 

I  knew  who  it  was  at  once.  It  was  the  most  hide- 
ous ill-fortune.  I  answered  gruffly,  and  without  turn- 
ing my  head. 

"Folkestone  Harbour!" 

I  thought  that  after  that  she  must  surely  go  away. 
But  she  did  nothing  of  the  sort.  She  came  and  leaned 
over  the  rail  by  my  side. 

"  You  are  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson,  are  you  not?  " 

My  heart  sank,  and  I  could  have  cursed  my  folly  for 
leaving  my  cabin.  However,  since  I  was  discovered 
there  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  make  the  best  of  it. 

"  Yes,  I  am  Arnold  Greatson,"  I  admitted. 

"  I  wonder  if  you  know  who  I  am  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  You  are  the  Princess  Adelaide  of " 

She  held  up  her  hand. 

"  Stop,  please !  I  see  that  you  know.  For  some 
mysterious  reason  I  am  travelling  almost  alone,  and 
under  another  name  which  I  do  not  like  at  all.  You 
are  very  fond  of  my  cousin,  Isobel,  are  you  not,  Mr. 
Greatson?" 

I  tried  to  see  her  face,  but  it  was  half  turned  away 
from  me.  Her  voice,  however,  reminded  me  a  little 
of  Isobel's. 

"  Yes,"  I  admitted  slowly.     "  You  see,  she  was 


230  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

under  our  care  for  some  time,  and  we  all  grew  very 
fond  of  her." 

"  But  you  —  you  especially,  I  mean,"  she  went  on. 
"  Do  not  be  afraid  of  me,  Mr.  Greatson.  I  know 
that  my  mother  is  very  angry  with  you,  and  has  tried 
to  take  Isobel  away,  but  if  I  were  she  I  would  not 
come.  I  think  that  she  must  be  very  much  happier 
as  she  is." 

"I  —  I  am  too  old,"  I  said  slowly,  " to  dare  to  be 
fond  of  anyone  —  in  that  way." 

"  How  foolish !  "  she  murmured.  "  Do  you  know, 
Mr.  Greatson,  that  I  am  only  eighteen,  and  that  I 
am  betrothed  to  the  King  of  Saxonia.  He  is  over 
forty,  very  short,  and  he  has  horrid  turned-up  black 
moustaches.  He  is  willing  to  marry  me  because  I 
am  to  have  a  great  fortune,  and  my  mother  is  will- 
ing for  me  to  marry  him  because  I  shall  be  a  Queen. 
But  that  is  not  happiness,  is  it?" 

"  I  am  afraid  not,"  I  answered. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  continued,  "  I  feel  that  I  can 
talk  to  you  like  this  because  I  have  read  your  books. 
I  like  the  heroes  so  much,  and  of  course  I  like  the 
stories  too.  I  think  that  Isobel  is  very  wise  not  to 
want  to  come  back  to  Waldenburg.  I  wish  that  I 
were  free  as  she  is,  and  had  not  to  do  things  because 
I  am  a  Princess.  And  I  am  sure  that  she  is  very 
fond  of  you." 

"  Princess "  I  began. 

She  stopped  me. 

"  If  you  knew  how  I  hated  that  word ! "  she  mur- 
mured. "  I  may  never  see  you  again,  you  know, 
after  this  evening,  so  it  really  does  not  matter  —  but 
would  you  mind  calling  me  Adelaide?." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  231 

"Adelaide,  then,"  I  said,  "may  I  ask  you  a 
question?" 

"  As  many  as  you  like." 

"  Do  you  know  where  Isobel  is  now?  " 

Her  surprise  was  obviously  genuine. 

"  Why,  of  course  not !  Is  she  not  at  your  house 
in  London  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  She  is  a  few  hours  in  front  of  us  on  her  way  to 
Paris,"  I  said,  "  with  your  mother  and  the  Baron 
von  Leibingen  and  the  rest  of  your  people.  She  is 
travelling  in  your  clothes  and  in  your  name.  That  is 
why  you  were  left  to  follow  as  quietly  as  possible." 

She  laid  her  hand  upon  my  arm.  Her  eyes  were 
full  of  tears,  and  her  voice  shook. 

"  Oh,  I  am  so  sorry,"  she  cried  softly,  "  so  very 
sorry.  Why  cannot  my  mother  leave  her  alone  with 
you?  I  am  sure  she  would  be  happier." 

"  I  think  so  too,"  I  answered.  "  That  is  why  I 
am  going  to  try  and  fetch  her  back." 

She  looked  at  me  very  anxiously. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  you  do  not  know  my 
mother.  If  she  makes  up  her  mind  to  anything  she 
is  terribly  hard  to  change.  I  do  hope  that  you  suc- 
ceed, though.  Why  ever  did  Isobel  leave  you?" 

"  She  received  a  forged  letter,  written  in  somebody 
else's  name,"  I  said.  "  How  your  mother  has  induced 
her  to  stay  since,  though,  I  do  not  know.  She  looked 
very  ill  at  Charing  Cross,  and  she  had  to  be  helped 
into  the  train." 

The  Princess  Adelaide  went  very  white. 

"  It  was  she  I  heard  this  morning  —  cry  out,"  she 
murmured.  "  They  told  me  it  was  one  of  the  ser- 


232  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

vants  who  had  had  an  accident.  Mr.  Greatson,  this 
is  terrible !  " 

She  turned  her  head  away,  and  I  could  see  that 
she  was  crying. 

"  You  must  not  distress  yourself,"  I  said  kindly. 
"  I  daresay  that  it  will  all  come  right.  You  will  see 
Isobel,  I  think,  in  Paris.  If  you  do,  will  you  give 
her  a  message?  " 

"  Of  course,  I  will/'  she  answered. 

"  Tell  her  that  we  are  close  at  hand,  and  that  we 
have  powerful  friends,"  I  whispered.  "  We  shall 
get  to  see  her  somehow  or  other,  and  if  she  chooses 
to  return  she  shall ! " 

"Yes.     Anything  else?" 

"  I  think  not,"  I  answered. 

"Do  you  not  want  to  send  her  your  love?"  she 
asked,  with  a  faint  smile. 

"  Of  course,"  I  said  slowly. 

She  leaned  a  little  over  towards  me. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  do  you  know  what  I 
should  want  you  to  do  if  I  were  Isobel  —  what  I  am 
quite  sure  that  she  must  want  you  to  do  now  ?  " 

"Tell  me!" 

"  Why,  marry  her !  She  would  be  quite  safe  then, 
wouldn't  she?" 

I  tried  to  smile  in  a  non-committal  sort  of  way, 
but  I  am  afraid  there  were  things  in  my  face  beyond 
my  power  to  control. 

"  You  forget,"  I  answered.  "  I  am  thirty-four, 
and  Isobel  is  only  eighteen.  Besides,  there  is  some- 
one else  who  wants  to  marry  Isobel.  He  is  young, 
and  they  have  been  great  friends  always.  I  think 
that  she  is  fond  of  him." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  233 

She  shook  her  head  doubtfully. 

"  I  do  not  think  that  thirty-four  is  old  at  all,  and 
if  you  care  for  Isobel,  I  would  not  let  anyone  else 
marry  her,"  she  declared.  "Is  that  Calais?" 

"  Yes." 

"  I  think  that  I  will  go  now  in  case  my  maid 
should  see  us  together,"  she  said.  "  Oh,  I  can  tell 
you  where  we  are  going  in  Paris.  Will  that  help 
you?" 

"  Of  course  it  will,"  I  answered. 

"  Number  17,  Rue  Henriette,"  she  whispered. 
"  Please  come  a  little  further  this  way  a  moment." 

I  obeyed  her  at  once.  We  were  quite  out  of  sight 
now,  in  the  quietest  corner  of  the  ship. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  you  will  think  that  I 
am  a  very  strange  girl.  I  am  going  to  be  married 
in  a  few  months  to  a  man  I  do  not  care  for  one  little 
bit,  and  it  seems  to  me  that  that  will  be  the  end  of 
my  life.  I  want  you  to  marry  Isobel,  and  I  hope  you 
will  both  be  very  happy  —  and  —  will  you  please  kiss 
me  once?  I  am  Isobel's  cousin,  you  know." 

I  leaned  forward  and  touched  her  lips.  Then  I 
grasped  her  hands  warmly. 

"  You  are  very,  very  kind,"  I  said  gratefully,  "  and 
you  can't  think  how  much  happier  you  have  made  me 
feel.  If  only  —  you  were  not  a  Princess !  " 

She  flitted  away  into  the  darkness  with  a  little 
broken  laugh.  She  passed  me  half  an  hour  later  in 
the  Customs'  house  with  a  languid  impassive  stare 
which  even  her  mother  could  not  have  excelled. 


234  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   III 

i 

FEURGERES  looked  at  me  in  surprise. 
"What  have  you  been  doing  to  yourself?" 
he  exclaimed.     "  Is  the  fresh  air  so  wonderful  a 
tonic,   or  have  you  been  asleep  and  dreaming  of 
Paradise?" 

I  laughed. 

"  The  sea  air  was  well  enough,"  I  answered,  "  but 
I  have  been  having  a  most  interesting  conversation.'* 

"  With  whom?  "  he  asked. 

"The  Princess  Adelaide!" 

He  drew  a  little  closer  to  me. 

"  You  are  serious  ?  " 

"  Undoubtedly.    Listen !  " 

Then  I  told  him  of  my  conversation  with  Isobel's 
cousin,  excepting  the  last  episode.  His  gratification 
was  scarcely  equal  to  mine.  He  was  a  little  thought- 
ful for  some  time  afterwards.  I  am  sure  he  felt  that 
I  had  been  indiscreet. 

"  The  Princess  Adelaide,"  I  said,  "  will  not  betray 
us.  I  am  sure  of  that.  She  will  tell  her  mother 
nothing." 

"  These  Waldenburgs,"  he  answered  gravely,  "  are 
a  crafty  race.  It  is  in  their  blood.  They  cannot 
help  it." 

"  Isobel  is  a  Waldenburg,"  I  reminded  him. 

"  She  is  her  mother's  daughter,"  he  said.  "  There 
is  always  one  alien  temperament  in  a  family." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  -233 

"  In  this  case,"  I  declared,  "  two !  " 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  We  shall  soon  know,"  he  said,  "  whether  this 
young  lady  is  honest  or  not.  A  man  will  meet  us 
at  Paris  with  an  exact  record  of  the  doings  of  the 
Archduchess  and  her  party.  We  shall  know  then 
where  Isobel  is.  If  the  address  is  the  same  as  that 
given  you  by  the  Princess  Adelaide,  I  will  believe 
in  her." 

"  But  not  till  then  ?  "  I  remarked,  smiling. 

"  Not  till  then !  "  he  assented. 

Before  we  left  Calais,  Feurgeres  sent  more  tele- 
grams, and  for  an  hour  afterwards  he  sat  opposite 
to  me  with  wide-open  eyes,  seeing  nothing,  as  was 
very  evident,  save  the  images  created  by  his  own 
thoughts.  As  we  reached  Amiens,  however,  he  spoke 
to  me. 

"  You  had  better  try  and  get  some  sleep,"  he  said. 
"  You  may  have  little  time  for  rest  in  Paris." 

"And  you?"  I  asked. 

"  It  is  another  matter,"  he  answered.  "  I  am  ac- 
customed to  sleeping  very  little;  and  besides,  it  is 
probable  that  this  affair  may  become  one  which  it 
will  be  necessary  for  you  to  follow  up  alone.  The 
sight  of  me,  or  the  mention  of  my  name,  is  like  poison 
to  all  the  Waldenburgs.  They  would  only  be  the 
more  bitter  and  hard  to  deal  with  if  they  knew  that 
I,  too,  had  joined  in  the  chase.  I  hope  to  be  able  to 
do  my  share  secretly." 

I  followed  his  suggestion,  and  slept  more  or  less 
fitfully  all  the  way  to  Paris.  I  was  awakened  to 
find  that  the  train  had  come  to  a  standstill.  We 
were  already  in  the  station,  and  as  I  hastily  collected 


236  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

my  belongings  I  saw  that  Feurgeres  had  left  me,  and 
was  standing  on  the  platform  talking  earnestly  to  a 
pale,  dark  young  Frenchman,  sombrely  dressed  and 
of  insignificant  appearance.  I  joined  him  just  as  his 
companion  departed.  He  turned  towards  me  with  a 
peculiar  smile. 

"  My  apologies  to  the  Princess,"  he  said.  "  The 
address  is  correct.  They  have  gone  to  a  suite  of 
rooms  belonging  to  the  Baron  von  Leibingen." 

"  They  are  there  still,  then  ?  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  They  are  there  still,"  Feurgeres  assented,  "  and 
they  show  no  immediate  signs  of  moving  on.  They 
are  apparently  waiting  for  someone  —  perhaps  for  the 
Princess  Adelaide.  Inside  the  house  and  out  they 
are  being  closely  watched,  and  directly  their  plans 
are  made  I  shall  know  of  them." 

I  looked,  as  I  felt,  a  little  surprised.  Feurgeres 
smiled. 

"  I  am  at  home  here,"  he  said,  "  and  I  have  friends. 
Come!  My  own  apartments  are  scarcely  a  stone' s- 
throw  away  from  the  Rue  Henriette.  Estere  will 
see  our  things  safely  through  the  Customs." 

We  drove  through  the  cold  grey  twilight  to  the 
Rue  de  St.  Antoine,  where  Feurgeres'  apartments 
were.  To  my  surprise  servants  were  at  hand  expect- 
ing us,  and  I  was  shown  at  once  into  a  suite  of 
rooms,  in  one  of  which  was  a  great  marble  bath  all 
ready  for  use.  Some  coffee  and  a  change  of  clothes 
were  brought  me.  All  my  wants  seemed  to  have 
been  anticipated  and  provided  for.  I  had  always 
imagined  Feurgeres  to  be  a  man  of  very  simple  and 
homely  tastes,  but  there  were  no  traces  of  it  in  his 
home.  He  showed  me  some  of  the  rooms  while  we 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  237 

waited  for  breakfast,  rooms  handsomely  furnished 
and  decorated,  full  of  art  treasures  and  curios  of 
many  sorts  collected  from  many  countries. 

But,  in  a  sense,  it  was  like  a  dead  house.  One  felt 
that  it  might  be  a  dwelling  of  ghosts.  There  were 
nowhere  any  signs  of  the  rooms  being  used,  the 
habitable  air  was  absent.  Everything  was  in  per- 
fect order.  There  was  no  dust,  none  of  the  chilliness 
of  disuse.  Yet  one  seemed  to  feel  everywhere  the 
sadness  of  places  which  exist  only  for  their  history. 
One  door  only  remained  closed,  and  that  Feurgeres 
unlocked  with  a  little  key  which  hung  from  his  chain. 
But  he  did  not  invite  me  to  enter. 

"  You  will  excuse  me  for  a  few  moments,"  he  said. 
"  My  housekeeper  will  show  you  into  the  breakfast- 
room.  Please  do  not  wait  for  me." 

An  old  lady,  very  primly  dressed  in  black,  and 
wearing  a  curious  cap  with  long  white  strings,  bustled 
me  away.  As  Feurgeres  opened  the  door  of  the 
room,  in  front  of  which  we  had  been  standing,  the 
air  seemed  instantly  sweet  with  the  perfume  of 
flowers.  The  old  lady  sighed  as  she  poured  me  out 
some  coffee.  I  am  ashamed  to  say  that  I  felt,  and 
doubtless  I  looked,  curious. 

"  Would  it  not  be  as  well  for  me  to  wait  for 
Monsieur  Feurgeres  ?  "  I  asked.  "  He  will  not  be 
very  long,  I  suppose?" 

The  old  lady  shook  her  head  sadly. 

"  Ah !  but  one  cannot  say !  "  she  answered.  "  Mon- 
sieur had  better  begin  his  breakfast." 

"  Your  master  has  perhaps  someone  waiting  to  see 
him  ?  "  I  remarked. 

Madame  Tobain  —  she  told  me  her  name  —  shook 


238  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

her  head  once  more.  She  spoke  softly,  almost  as 
though  she  were  speaking  of  something  sacred. 

"  Monsieur  did  not  know,  perhaps  —  it  was  the 
chamber  of  Madame.  Always  Monsieur  spends  sev- 
eral hours  a  day  there  when  he  is  in  Paris,  and 
always  after  he  has  performed  at  the  theatre  he  re- 
turns immediately  to  sit  there.  No  one  else  is  allowed 
to  enter;  only  I,  when  Monsieur  is  away,  am  per- 
mitted once  a  day  to  fill  it  with  fresh  flowers  — 
flowers  always  the  most  expensive  and  rare.  Ah, 
such  devotion,  and  for  the  dead,  too!  One  finds  it 
seldom,  indeed!  It  is  the  great  artists  only  who  can 
feel  like  that!" 

She  wiped  her  eyes  with  the  corner  of  her  apron, 
dropped  me  a  curtsey,  and  withdrew.  Feurgeres 
came  in  presently,  and  I  avoided  looking  at  him  for 
the  first  few  minutes.  To  tell  the  truth,  there  was  a 
lump  in  my  own  throat.  When  he  spoke,  however, 
his  tone  was  as  usual. 

"  I  shall  ask  you,"  he  said,  "  to  stay  indoors,  but 
to  be  prepared  to  start  away  at  a  moment's  notice. 
I  am  going  to  make  a  few  enquiries  myself." 

His  voice  drew  my  eyes  to  his  face,  and  I  was 
astonished  at  his  appearance.  The  skin  seemed 
tightly  drawn  about  his  cheeks,  and  he  was  very 
white.  As  though  in  contradiction  to  his  ill-looks, 
however,  his  eyes  were  unusually  brilliant  and  clear, 
and  his  manner  almost  buoyant. 

"  Forgive  me,  Monsieur  Feurgeres,"  I  said,  "  but 
it  seems  to  me  that  you  had  better  rest  for  a  while. 
You  have  been  travelling  longer  than  I  have,  and 
you  are  tired." 

He  smiled  at  me  almost  gaily. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  239 

"  On  the  contrary,"  he  declared,  "  I  never  felt  more 
vigorous.  I " 

He  stopped  short,  and  walked  the  length  of  the 
room.  When  he  returned  he  was  very  grave,  but 
the  smile  was  still  upon  his  lips.  He  laid  his  hand 
almost  affectionately  upon  my  shoulder. 

"  My  dear  friend,"  he  said  softly,  "  I  think  that 
you  are  the  only  one  to  whom  I  have  felt  it  possible 
to  speak  of  the  things  which  lie  so  near  my  heart. 
For  I  think  that  you,  too,  are  one  of  those  who  know, 
and  who  must  know,  what  it  is  to  suffer.  We  who- 
carry  the  iron  in  our  hearts,  you  know,  are  sometimes 
drawn  together.  The  things  which  we  may  hide  from 
the  world  we  cannot  hide  from  one  another.  Only 
for  you  there  is  hope,  for  me  there  has  been  the 
wonderful  past.  People  have  pitied  me  often,  my 
friend,  for  what  they  have  called  my  lonely  life. 
They  little  know!  I  am  not  a  sentimentalist.  I 
speak  of  real  things.  Isobel,  my  wife,  died  to  the 
world  and  was  buried.  To  me  she  lives  always. 
Just  now  —  I  have  been  with  her.  She  sat  in  her 
old  chair,  and  her  eyes  smiled  again  their  marvellous 
welcome  to  me.  Only  —  and  this  is  why  I  speak  to 
you  of  these  things  —  there  was  a  difference." 

He  was  silent  for  a  few  minutes.  When  he 
continued,  his  voice  was  a  little  softer  but  no  less 
firm. 

"  Dear  friend,"  he  said,  "  I  will  be  honest.  When 
Isobel  was  taken  from  me  I  had  days  and  hours  of 
hideous  agony.  But  it  was  the  craving  for  her  body 
only,  the  touch  of  her  lips,  the  caress  of  her  hands, 
the  sound  of  her  voice.  Her  spirit  has  been  with  me 
always.  At  first,  perhaps,  her  coming  was  faint  and 


B40  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

indefinable,  but  with  every  day  I  realized  her  more 
fully.  I  called  her,  and  she  sat  in  her  box  and 
watched  me  play,  and  kissed  her  roses  to  me.  I 
close  the  door  upon  the  world  and  call  her  back  to 
her  room,  call  her  into  my  arms,  whisper  the  old 
words,  call  her  those  names  which  she  loves  best  — 
and  she  is  there,  and  all  my  burden  of  sorrow  falls 
away.  My  friend,  a  great  love  can  do  this!  A 
great,  pure  love  can  mock  even  at  the  grave." 

I  clasped  his  hand  in  mine. 

"  I  think,"  I  said,  "  that  I  will  never  pity  you 
again.  You  have  triumphed  even  over  Fate  —  even 
over  those  terrible,  relentless  laws  which  sometimes 
make  a  ghastly  nightmare  of  life  even  to  the  happiest 
of  us.  You  have  turned  sorrow  into  joy.  It  is  a 
great  deed.  You  have  made  my  own  suffering  seem 
almost  a  vulgar  thing." 

"Ah,  no!"  he  said,  "for  you,  too,  there  is  hope. 
You,  too,  know  that  we  need  never  be  the  idle,  resist- 
less slaves  of  Fate  —  like  those  others.  Will  and  faith 
and  purity  can  kindle  a  magic  flame  to  lighten  the 
darkness  of  the  greatest  sorrow.  I  speak  to  you  of 
these  things  —  now  —  because  I  think  that  the  end 
is  near." 

He  suddenly  sank  into  a  chair.  I  looked  at  him 
in  alarm,  but  his  face  was  radiant.  There  was  no 
sign  of  any  illness  there. 

"  You  are  young,  Arnold  Greatson,"  he  said. 
"  They  tell  me  that  you  will  be  famous.  Yet  you 
are  not  one  of  those  to  turn  your  face  to  the  wall 
because  the  greatest  gift  of  life  is  withheld  from  you. 
That  is  why  I  have  lifted  the  curtain  of  my  own  days. 
I  know  you,  and  I  know  that  you  will  triumph.  It 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  241 

is  a  world  of  compensations  after  all  for  those  who 
have  the  wit  to  understand." 

I  think  that  he  had  more  to  say  to  me,  but  we  were 
interrupted.  There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and  the 
man  entered  whom  I  had  seen  talking  with  Feurgeres 
upon  the  platform  of  the  railway  station.  Feurgeres 
rose  at  once,  calm  and  prepared.  They  talked  for  a 
while  so  rapidly  that  I  could  not  follow  them.  Then 
he  turned  to  me. 

"  They  are  preparing  for  a  move,"  he  announced. 
"  They  are  going  south  as  though  for  Marseilles  and 
Illghera,  but  they  insist  upon  a  special  train.  They 
have  declined  a  saloon  attached  to  the  train  de  luxe, 
and  Monsieur  Estere  here  has  doubts  as  to  their  real 
destination.  Wait  here  until  I  return.  Be  prepared 
for  a  journey." 

•  •••••• 

They  left  me  alone.  I  lit  a  cigarette  and  settled 
down  to  read.  In  less  than  half  an  hour,  however,  I 
was  disturbed.  There  was  a  knock  at  the  door,  and 
Madame  Tobain  entered. 

"  There  is  a  lady  here,  sir,  who  desires  to  see 
Monsieur !  "  she  announced. 

A  fair,  slight  woman  in  a  long  travelling  cloak 
brushed  past  her.  She  raised  her  veil,  and  I  started 
at  once  to  my  feet.  It  was  Lady  Delahaye. 


16 


242  THE   MASTER   MUMMEK 


CHAPTER   IV 

IT  did  not  need  a  word  from  Lady  Delahaye  to 
acquaint  me  fully  with  what  had  happened.  In- 
deed, my  only  wonder  had  been  that  this  knowledge 
had  not  come  to  her  before.  She  greeted  me  with 
a  smile,  but  her  face  was  full  of  purpose. 

"  Where  is  he  ?  "  she  asked  simply. 

"  Not  here,"  I  answered. 

She  seated  herself,  and  began  to  unpin  the  travel- 
ling veil  from  her  hat. 

"  So  I  perceive,"  she  remarked.    "He  will  return?" 

"  Yes,"  I  admitted,  "  he  will  return." 

She  folded  the  veil  upon  her  knee  and  looked 
across  at  me  thoughtfully. 

"  What  an  idiot  I  have  been ! "  she  murmured. 
"  After  all,  that  emerald  necklace  might  easily  have 
been  mine." 

"  I  am  not  so  sure  about  that,"  I  answered.  "  I 
think  I  know  what  is  in  your  mind,  but  I  might 
remind  you  that  suspicion  is  one  thing  and  proof 
another." 

"  The  motive,"  she  answered,  "  is  the  difficult 
thing,  and  that  is  found.  I  suppose  the  police  are 
good  for  something.  They  should  be  able  to  work 
backwards  from  a  certainty." 

"  Are  you,"  I  asked,  "  going  to  employ  the  police? 
Don't  you  think  that,  for  the  good  of  everyone,  and 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  243 

even  for  your  husband's  own  sake,  the  thing  had 
better  remain  where  it  is  ?  " 

She  laughed  scornfully. 

"  You  would  have  me  let  the  man  go  free  who 
shot  another  in  the  back  treacherously  and  without 
warning?"  she  exclaimed.  "Thank  you  for  your 
advice,  Arnold  Greatson.  I  have  a  different  purpose 
in  my  mind." 

I  moved  my  chair  and  drew  a  little  nearer  to  her. 

"  Lady  Delahaye  —  "I  began. 

"  The  use  of  my  Christian  name,"  she  murmured, 
"  would  perhaps  make  your  persuasions  more  effect- 
ive. At  any  rate,  you  might  try.  I  have  never 
forbidden  you  to  use  it." 

"If  you  have  any  regard  for  me  at  all,  then, 
Eileen,"  I  said,  "  you  will  think  seriously  before  you 
take  any  steps  against  Monsieur  Feurgeres.  Re- 
member that  he  had,  or  thought  he  had,  very  strong 
reasons  for  acting  as  he  did.  Looking  at  it  chari- 
tably, your  husband's  proceedings  were  open  to  very 
grave  misconstruction.  There  will  be  a  great  deal  of 
unpleasant  scandal  if  the  story  is  raked  up  again,  and 
Isobel's  whole  history  will  be  told  in  court.  How  will 
that  suit  the  Archduchess  ?  " 

"Not  at  all,"  Lady  Delahaye  admitted  frankly; 
"  but  the  Archduchess  is  not  the  only  person  to  be 
considered.  You  seem  to  forget  that  this  is  no 
trifling  matter,  It  is  a  murderer  whom  you  are 
shielding,  the  man  who  killed  my  husband  whom 
you  would  have  me  let  go  free." 

"  Technically,"  I  admitted,  "  not  actually.  Your 
husband  did  not  die  of  his  wound.  He  was  in  a 
very  bad  state  of  health." 


244  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"I  cannot  recognize  the  distinction,"  Lady  Dela- 
haye  declared  coldly.  "  He  died  from  shock  follow- 
ing it." 

"  Consider  for  a  moment  the  position  of  Monsieur 
Feurgeres,"  I  pleaded.  "  Isobel  was  the  only  child 
of  the  woman  whom  he  had  dearly  loved.  The  care 
of  her  was  a  charge  upon  his  conscience  and  upon 
his  honour.  Any  open  association  with  him  he  felt 
might  be  to  her  detriment  later  on  in  life.  All  that 
he  could  do  was  to  watch  over  her  from  a  distance. 
He  saw  her,  as  he  imagined,  in  danger.  What  course 
was  open  to  him  ?  Forget  for  the  moment  that  Major 
Delahaye  was  your  husband.  Put  yourself  in  the 
place  of  Feurgeres.  What  could  he  do  but  strike?" 

"  He  broke  the  law,"  she  said  coldly,  "  the  law  of 
men  and  of  God.  He  must  take  the  consequences. 
I  am  not  a  vindictive  woman.  I  would  have  forgiven 
him  for  making  a  scene,  for  striking  my  husband, 
or  taking  away  the  child  by  force.  But  he  went  too 
far." 

"Have  you,"  I  asked,  "been  to  the  police?" 

"  Not  yet." 

I  caught  at  this  faint  hope. 

"  You  came  here  to  see  him  first?  You  have  some- 
thing to  propose  —  some  compromise  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head  slowly. 

"  Between  Monsieur  Feurgeres  and  myself,"  she 
said,  "  there  can  be  no  question  of  anything  of  the 
sort.  There  is  nothing  which  he  could  offer  me, 
nothing  within  his  power  to  offer,  which  could  in- 
fluence me  in  the  slightest." 

"  Then  why,"  I  asked,  "  are  you  here?  " 

"  To  see  you,"  she  answered.    "  I  want  to  ask  you 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  245 

this,  Arnold.  You  wish  Monsieur  Feurgeres  to  go 
free.  You  wish  to  stay  my  hand.  What  price  are 
you  willing  to  pay  ?  " 

I  looked  at  her  blankly.  As  yet  her  meaning  was 
hidden  from  me. 

"  Any  price !  "  I  declared. 

Then  she  leaned  over  towards  me. 

"  What  is  he  to  you,  Arnold  —  this  man  ?  "  she 
asked  softly.  "  You  are  wonderfully  loyal  to  some 
of  your  friends." 

"  I  know  the  story  of  his  life,"  I  answered,  "  and 
it  is  enough.  Besides,  he  is  an  old  man,  and  I  fancy 
that  his  health  is  failing.  Let  him  end  his  days  in 
peace.  You  will  never  regret  it,  Eileen.  If  my 
gratitude  is  worth  anything  to  you " 

"  I  want,"  she  interrupted,  "  more  than  your 
gratitude." 

We  sat  looking  at  each  other  for  a  moment  in  a 
silence  which  I  for  my  part  could  not  have  broken. 
I  read  in  her  face,  in  her  altered  expression,  and  the 
softened  gleam  of  her  eyes,  all  that  I  was  expected 
to  read.  I  said  nothing. 

"  It  is  not  so  very  many  years,  Arnold,"  she  went 
on,  "  since  you  cared  for  me,  or  said  that  you  did. 
I  have  not  changed  so  much,  have  I?  Give  up  this 
senseless  pursuit  of  a  child.  Oh,  you  guard  your 
secret  very  bravely,  but  you  cannot  hide  the  truth 
from  me.  It  is  not  all  philanthropy  which  has  made 
you  such  a  squire  of  dames.  You  believe  that  you 
care  for  her  —  that  child !  Arnold,  it  is  a  foolish 
fancy.  You  belong  to  different  hemispheres;  you 
are  twice  her  age.  It  will  be  years  before  she  can 
even  realize  what  life  and  love  may  be.  Give  it  all 


246  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

up.  She  is  in  safe  hands  now.  Come  back  to 
London  with  me,  and  Monsieur  Feurgeres  shall  go 
free." 

"  Monsieur  Feurgeres,  Madame,  thanks  you !  " 

He  had  entered  the  room  softly,  and  stood  at  the 
end  of  the  screen.  Lady  Delahaye's  face  darkened. 

"  May  I  ask,  sir,  how  long  you  have  been  playing 
the  eavesdropper?"  she  demanded. 

"  Not  so  long,  Madame,  as  I  should  have  desired," 
he  answered,  "  yet  long  enough  to  understand  this. 
My  young  friend  here  seems  to  be  trying  to  bargain 
with  you  for  my  safety.  Madame,  I  cannot  allow 
it.  If  your  silence  is  indeed  to  be  bought,  the  terms 
must  be  arranged  between  you  and  me." 

She  looked  at  him  a  trifle  insolently. 

"  I  have  already  explained  to  Mr.  Greatson,"  she 
remarked,  "  that  bargaining  between  you  and  me  is 
impossible  because  you  have  nothing  to  offer  which 
could  tempt  me." 

"And  Mr.  Greatson  has?" 

"  That,  Monsieur,"  she  answered,  "  is  .between  Mr. 
Greatson  and  myself." 

Monsieur  Feurgeres  stood  his  ground. 

"  Lady  Delahaye,"  he  said,  "  I  want  you  to  listen 
to  me  for  a  moment.  It  is  not  a  justification 
which  I  am  attempting.  It  is  just  a  word  or  two 
of  explanation,  to  which  I  trust  you  will  not  refuse 
to  listen." 

"  If  you  think  it  worth  while,"  she  answered  coldly. 

He  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"  Who  can  tell !  I  have  the  fancy,  however,  to 
assure  you  that  what  took  place  that  day  at  the  Cafe 
Grand  was  not  the  impulsive  act  of  a  man  inspired 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  247 

with  a  homicidal  mania,  but  was  the  necessary  out- 
come of  a  long  sequence  of  events.  You  know  the 
peculiar  relations  existing  between  Isobel  and  myself. 
I  had  not  the  right  to  approach  her,  or  to  assume 
any  overt  act  of  guardianship.  Any  association  with 
me  would  at  once  have  imperilled  any  chance  she  may 
have  possessed  of  being  restored  to  her  rightful  posi- 
tion at  Waldenburg.  I  accordingly  could  only  watch 
over  her  by  means  of  spies.  This  I  have  always 
done." 

"With  what  object,  Monsieur  Feurgeres?"  Lady 
Delahaye  asked.  "  You  could  never  have  interfered." 

"  The  care~bf  Isobel  —  the  distant  care  of  her  — 
was  a  charge  laid  upon  me  by  her  mother,"  Feurgeres 
answered.  "  It  was  therefore  sacred.  I  trusted  to 
Fate  to  find  those  who  might  intervene  where  I  dared 
not,  and  Fate  sent  me  at  a  very  critical  moment  Mr. 
Arnold  Greatson.  Lady  Delahaye,  to  speak  ill  of  a 
woman  is  no  pleasant  task  —  to  speak  ill  of  the  dead 
is  more  painful  still.  Yet  these  are  facts.  The 
Archduchess  was  willing  to  go  to  any  lengths  to 
prevent  Isobel' s  creditable  and  honourable  appear- 
ance in  Waldenburg.  It  was  the  Archduchess  who, 
after  what  she  has  termed  her  sister's  disgrace,  sent 
Isobel  secretly  to  the  convent,  and  your  husband, 
Lady  Delahaye,  who  took  her  there.  It  was  your 
husband  who  brought  her  away,  and  it  was  the  an- 
nouncement of  his  visit  to  the  convent,  and  an  ill- 
advised  confidence  to  a  friend  at  his  club  in  Paris, 
which  brought  me  home  from  America.  I  will  only 
say  that  I  had  reason  to  suspect  Major  Delahaye 
as  the  guardian  of  Isobel  —  even  the  Archduchess 
was  ignorant  of  the  position  which  he  had  assumed. 


248  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Since  I  became  a  player  there  are  many  who  forget 
that  my  family  is  noble.  Major  Delahaye  was  one 
of  these.  He  returned  a  letter  which  I  wrote  to  him 
with  a  contemptuous  remark  only.  My  friend  the 
Due  d'Autrien  saw  him  on  my  behalf.  From  him 
your  husband  received  a  second  and  a  very  plain 
warning.  He  disregarded  it.  Once  more  I  wrote. 
I  warned  him  that  if  he  took  Isobel  from  the  con- 
vent he  went  to  his  death.  That  is  all ! " 

There  was  a  silence.  Lady  Delahaye  was  very 
pale.  She  looked  imploringly  at  me. 

"  Monsieur  Feurgeres,"  she  said,  "  I  am  not  your 
judge.  I  do  not  wish  to  seem  vindictive.  Will  you 
leave  me  with  Mr.  Greatson  for  a  few  minutes?" 

"  Madame,  I  cannot,"  he  answered  gravely. 
"  Apart  from  the  fact  that  I  decline  to  have  my 
safety  purchased  for  me,  especially  by  one  to  whom 
I  already  owe  too  much,  it  is  necessary  that  Mr. 
Greatson  leaves  this  house  within  the  next  quarter 
of  an  hour." 

I  sprang  to  my  feet.  I  forgot  Lady  Delahaye.  I 
forgot  that  this  man's  life  and  freedom  rested  at  her 
disposal.  The  great  selfishness  was  upon  me. 

"  I  am  ready !  "  I  exclaimed. 

Lady  Delahaye  looked,  and  she  understood.  Slowly 
she  rose  to  her  feet  and  crossed  the  room  towards  the 
door.  I  was  tongue-tied.  I  made  no  protest  —  asked 
no  questions.  Feurgeres  opened  the  door  for  her  and 
summoned  his  servant,  but  no  word  of  any  sort  passed 
between  them.  Then  he  turned  suddenly  to  me.  His 
tone  was  changed.  He  was  quick  and  alert. 

"  Arnold,"  he  said,  "  the  rest  is  with  you.  They 
are  taking  her  to  the  convent  Madame  Richard  is 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  249 

here,  and  the  Cardinal  de  Vaux.  They  have  a  plot 
—  but  never  mind  that.  If  she  passes  the  threshold 
of  the  convent  she  is  lost.  It  is  for  you  to  prevent 
it." 

"  I  am  ready !  "  I  cried. 

He  opened  a  desk  and  tossed  me  a  small  revolver. 

"  Estere  waits  below  in  the  carriage.  He  will 
drive  with  you  to  the  station.  You  take  the  ordinary 
express  to  Marcon.  There  an  automobile  waits  for 
you,  and  you  must  start  for  the  convent.  The  driver 
has  the  route.  Remember  this.  You  must  go  alone. 
You  must  overtake  them.  Use  force  if  necessary. 
If  you  fail  —  Isobel  is  lost!" 

"  I  shall  not  fail !  "  I  answered  grimly. 

"  Bring  her  back,  Arnold,"  he  said,  with  a  sudden 
change  in  his  tone.  "  I  want  to  see  her  once  more." 

I  left  him  there,  and  glancing  upwards  from  the 
street  as  the  carriage  drove  off,  I  waved  my  hand  to 
the  slim  black  figure  at  the  window,  whose  wan, 
weary  eyes  watched  our  departure  with  an  expres- 
sion which  at  the  time  I  could  not  fathom.  It  was 
not  until  I  was  actually  in  the  train  that  I  remem- 
bered what  Lady  Delahaye's  silent  departure  might 
mean  for  him. 


250  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   V 

OUR  plans  were  skilfully  enough  laid,  but  the 
Archduchess  also  had  missed  nothing.  We 
rushed  through  the  village  of  Argueil  without  hav- 
ing seen  any  sign  of  the  carriage,  and  it  was  not  until 
we  had  reached  the  vineyard-bordered  road  beyond 
that  we  saw  it  at  last  climbing  the  last  hill  to  the 
convent. 

"  Shall  we  catch  it?  "  I  gasped. 

The  chauffeur  only  smiled. 

"  Monsieur  may  rest  assured,"  he  answered,  chang- 
ing into  his  fourth  speed,  notwithstanding  the  slight 
ascent. 

Half-way  up  the  hill  we  were  barely  one  hun- 
dred yards  behind.  The  man  glanced  at  me  for 
instructions. 

"  Blow  your  horn,"  I  said. 

He  obeyed.  The  carriage  drew  to  the  side  of  the 
road.  We  rushed  by,  and  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  three 
faces.  My  spirits  rose.  There  was  only  the  Baron 
to  deal  with.  Madame  Richard  and  Isobel  were  the 
other  occupants  of  the  carriage. 

"  Stop,  and  draw  the  car  across  the  road ! "  I 
ordered. 

The  man  obeyed.  I  sprang  to  the  ground.  The 
Baron  had  his  head  out  of  the  window,  and  the 
driver  was  flogging  his  horses. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  If  you  do  not  stop,"  I  called  out,  "  I  shall  shoot 
your  horses." 

The  driver  took  no  notice.  He  had  flogged  his 
horses  into  a  gallop,  and  was  coming  straight  at  me. 
I  fired,  and  one  of  the  horses,  after  a  wild  plunge 
came  down,  dragging  the  other  with  him,  and  break- 
ing the  pole.  The  driver  was  thrown  on  to  the  top 
of  them  and  rolled  off  into  the  hedge,  cursing  vol- 
ubly. The  Baron  leaned  out  of  the  window,  and  he 
had  something  in  his  hand  which  gleamed  like  silver 
in  the  sunlight. 

"  I  have  had  enough  of  you,  my  young  friend,"  he 
said  fiercely,  and  instantly  fired. 

An  unseen  hand  struck  his  arm  as  he  pulled  the 
trigger.  I  felt  my  hat  quiver  upon  my  head  as  I 
sprung  forward.  The  Baron  had  no  time  to  fire 
again.  I  caught  him  by  the  throat  and  dragged 
him  into  the  road. 

"  I  have  had  more  than  enough  of  you,  you  black- 
guard," I  muttered,  and  I  shook  him  till  he  groaned, 
and  threw  him  across  the  road. 

Isobel  stretched  out  her  arms  to  me  —  Isobel  her- 
self, but  how  pale  and  changed ! 

"  Arnold,  Arnold,  take  me  away !  "  she  moaned. 

I  would  have  lifted  her  out,  but  Madame  Richard 
had  seized  her. 

"  The  child  is  vowed,"  she  said.  "  You  shall  not 
touch  her.  She  belongs  to  God." 

"  Then  give  her  to  me,"  I  cried,  "  for  I  swear  she 
is  nearer  to  Heaven  in  my  arms  than  yours." 

The  woman's  black  eyes  flashed  terrible  things  at 
me,  and  she  wound  herself  round  Isobel  with  a  mar- 
vellous strength.  For  a  moment  I  was  helpless. 


252  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Madame,"  I  said,  "  I  have  never  yet  raised  my 
hand  against  a  woman,  but  if  you  do  not  release  that 
girl  this  moment  I  shall  have  to  forget  your  sex." 

"Never!  "she  shrieked.  "Help!   Baron!  Cocher!" 

Some  blue-bloused  men  looked  up  from  their  work 
in  the  vineyards  a  long  way  off.  It  was  no  time  for 
hesitation.  I  set  my  teeth,  and  I  caught  hold  of  the 
woman's  arms.  Her  bones  cracked  in  my  hands 
before  she  let  go.  Isobel  at  last  was  free! 

"  Jump  up  and  get  in  the  automobile,  Isobel ! "  I 
said.  "  Bear  up,  dear !  It  is  only  for  a  moment 
now." 

Half  fainting  she  staggered  out  and  groped  her 
way  across  the  road.  Once  she  nearly  fell,  but  my 
chauffeur  leaped  down  and  caught  her.  Then 
Madame  Richard  looked  in  my  eyes  and  cursed  me 
with  slow,  solemn  words. 

I  sprang  away  from  her.  She  followed.  I  jumped 
into  the  automobile.  She  stood  in  front  of  it  and 
dared  us  to  start.  The  driver  backed  a  little,  sud- 
denly shot  forward,  and  with  a  wonderful  curve 
avoided  her.  She  ran  to  meet  the  peasants  who 
were  streaming  now  across  the  fields.  We  could 
hear  for  a  few  minutes  her  shrill  cries  to  them. 
Then  the  vineyards  became  patchwork,  and  the  still 
air  a  rushing  wind.  Our  chauffeur  sat  grim  and 
motionless,  like  a  figure  of  fate,  and  we  did  our 
forty  miles  an  hour. 

"You  have  orders?"  I  asked  him  once. 

"  But  yes,  Monsieur,"  he  answered.  "  We  go  to 
Paris  —  and  avoid  the  telegraph  offices." 

All  the  while  Isobel  was  only  partially  conscious. 
Gradually,  however,  her  colour  became  more  natural, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  253 

and  at  last  she  opened  her  eyes  and  smiled  at  me. 
Her  fingers  faintly  pressed  mine.  She  said  nothing 
then,  but  in  about  half  an  hour  she  made  an  effort  to 
sit  up. 

"  Dear  Arnold,"  she  murmured,  "  you  are  indeed 
my  guardian.  Oh " 

She  broke  off,  and  shuddered  violently. 

"Please  don't  try  to  talk  yet,"  I  said.  "I 
should  n't  have  been  much  of  a  guardian,  should  I, 
if  I  had  n't  fetched  you  out  of  this  scrape?  Besides, 
it  was  Monsieur  Feurgeres  who  planned  everything." 

"  Arnold,"  she  murmured,  "I  —  have  n't  eaten 
anything  for  some  time.  They  put  things  in  my 
food  to  make  me  drowsy,  so  I  dared  not." 

Under  my  breath  I  made  large  demands  upon  my 
stock  of  profanity.  Then  I  leaned  over  and  spoke  to 
the  chauffeur.  We  were  passing  through  a  small 
town,  and  he  at  once  slackened  pace  and  pulled  up 
at  a  small  restaurant.  With  the  first  mouthful  of 
soup  Isobel's  youth  and  strength  seemed  to  reassert 
themselves.  After  a  cutlet  and  a  glass  of  wine  she 
had  colour,  and  began  to  talk.  She  even  grumbled 
when  I  denied  her  coffee,  and  hurried  her  off  again. 
In  the  automobile  she  came  close  to  my  side,  and 
with  a  shyness  quite  new  to  her  linked  her  arm  in 
mine.  So  we  sped  once  more  on  our  way  to  Paris. 

Conversation,  had  Isobel  been  fit  for  it,  was  scarcely 
possible.  But  in  a  disjointed  sort  of  way  she  tried  to 
tell  me  things. 

"  I  was  inside  the  house,"  she  said,  "  and  the  door 
of  the  room  was  locked  before  I  knew  that  Monsieur 
Feurgeres  was  not  there  —  that  the  letter  was  not  a 
true  one.  My  aunt  came  and  talked  to  me.  She  tried 


254  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

to  be  kind  at  first.  Afterwards  she  was  very  angry. 
She  said  that  my  grandfather  was  an  old  man,  that 
he  wished  to  see  me  before  he  died.  I  must  go  with 
her  at  once.  I  said  that  I  would  go  if  I  might  see 
you  first,  but  that  only  made  her  more  angry  still. 
She  said  that  my  life  had  been  a  disgrace  to  our 
family,  that  I  must  not  mention  your  name,  that  I 
must  speak  as  though  I  had  just  left  the  convent. 
iThen  I,  too,  lost  my  temper.  I  said  that  I  would 
not  go  to  Illghera.  I  did  not  want  to  see  my  grand- 
father, or  any  of  my  relations.  They  had  left  me 
alone  so  many  years  that  now  I  could  do  without 
them  altogether.  She  never  interrupted  me.  She 
looked  at  me  all  the  time  with  a  still,  cold  smile. 
When  I  had  finished  she  said  only,  *  We  shall  see,' 
and  she  left  me  alone.  They  brought  me  food,  and 
after  I  had  taken  some  of  it  I  was  ill.  After  that 
everything  seemed  like  a  dream.  I  simply  moved 
about  as  they  told  me,  and  I  did  not  seem  to  care 
much  what  happened.  Then  in  Paris  Adelaide  came 
into  my  room.  She  brought  me  some  chocolate,  and 
she  told  me  that  you  were  near.  I  think  that  I  should 
have  died  but  for  her.  I  began  to  listen  to  what  they 
said.  I  found  out  that  they  never  meant  to  take 
me  to  Illghera.  It  was  the  convent  all  the  time. 
Adelaide  brought  me  more  chocolate,  and  kissed  me. 
Then  I  made  up  my  mind  to  fight.  I  would  not  take 
their  food.  I  told  myself  all  the  time  that  I  was  not 
ill  —  I  would  not  be  ill.  That  is  why  I  was  able  to 
look  out  for  you,  to  strike  at  the  Baron  when  he 
tried  to  shoot  you,  and  to  walk  by  myself.  Arnold, 
why  does  my  aunt  hate  me  so?" 

I  did  not  answer  her,  for  even  as  she  talked  her 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  255 

voice  grew  fainter  and  fainter,  and  in  a  moment  or 
two  she  was  in  a  dead  sleep.  Her  head  fell  upon  my 
shoulder,  her  hand  rested  in  mine.  So  she  remained 
until  we  reached  the  outskirts  of  Paris.  Then  the 
noise  of  passing  vehicles,  and  the  altered  motion  ©f 
the  car  over  the  large  cobble-stones  woke  her.  She 
pressed  my  arm. 

"  I  am  safe,  Arnold?  "  she  murmured,  with  a  shade 
of  anxiety  still  in  her  tone. 

"  Quite,"  I  assured  her. 

In  a  few  moments  we  turned  into  the  Rue  de  St. 
Antoine  and  drew  up  before  Monsieur  Feurgeres' 
house.  In  the  hall  we  met  Tobain.  I  could  see  that 
she  had  been  weeping,  and  her  tone,  as  she  took  me 
a  little  on  one  side,  was  full  of  anxiety. 

"  Monsieur,"  she  murmured,  "  I  am  afraid " 

I  stopped  her. 

"  The  young  lady  first,"  I  said.  "  She  has  been 
ill.  Where  shall  I  take  her?  " 

She  threw  open  the  door  of  the  dining-room.  A 
small  round  table,  elegantly  appointed,  was  spread 
with  such  a  supper  as  Feurgeres  knew  well  how  to 
order.  There  was  a  gold  foiled  bottle,  flowers,  salads 
and  fruits.  Tobain  nodded  vigorously  as  she  drew 
up  a  chair  for  Isobel. 

"  It  was  Monsieur  himself  who  ordered  every- 
thing," she  exclaimed.  "  He  was  so  particular  that 
everything  should  be  of  the  best,  and  the  wine  he 
fetched  himself." 

"  Where  is  Monsieur  Feurgeres  ?  "  I  asked,  struck 
by  some  note  of  hidden  feeling  in  her  tone. 

"  I  will  take  you  to  him,"  she  answered,  "  if 
Mademoiselle  will  wait  here." 


256  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

In  the  hall  she  no  longer  concealed  her  fears. 

"  Monsieur,"  she  said,  "  I  am  afraid.  Soon  after 
you  had  left,  and  the  master  had  given  his  orders  for 
the  supper,  he  called  me  to  him.  He  was  standing 
before  the  door  of  Madame's  chamber,  the  room 
which  it  is  not  permitted  to  enter,  and  his  hands  and 
arms  were  full  of  flowers.  He  had  been  to  the  florists 
himself,  I  knew,  for  there  were  more  than  usual. 
*  Tobain,'  he  said,  '  always,  as  you  know,  I  lock  the 
door  of  this  room  when  I  enter.  To-day  I  shall  not 
do  so.  But  you  must  understand  that  no  one  is 
permitted  to  enter  but  my  friend,  Mr.  Arnold  Great- 
son,  who  will  return  this  evening.  Those  are  my 
orders,  Tobain.'  *  But,  Monsieur,  dejeuner  ?  '  '  Re- 
member, Tobain  —  Mr.  Arnold  Greatson  only.'  Then 
I  caught  a  glimpse  of  his  face,  Monsieur,  and  I  was 
afraid.  I  have  been  afraid  ever  since.  It  was  the 
face  of  a  young  man,  so  brilliant,  so  eager.  I  was  at 
my  master's  marriage,  and  the  look  was  there  then. 
He  went  in  and  he  closed  the  door,  and  since  then, 
Monsieur,  I  have  heard  no  sound,  and  many  hours 
have  passed.  Monsieur  will  please  enter  quickly." 

For  myself,  I  shared,  too,  Tobain's  nameless  ap- 
prehensions. I  left  her,  and  knocked  softly  at  the 
door.  There  was  no  answer.  So  I  entered. 

The  room  was  in  darkness,  but  the  opening  of  the 
door  touched  a  spring  under  the  carpet,  and  several 
heavily-shaded  electric  lamps  filled  the  apartment,  with 
a  soft  dim  light.  Monsieur  Feurgeres  was  sitting 
opposite  to  me,  his  eyes  closed,  a  faint  smile  upon 
his  lips.  He  had  the  air  of  a  man  who  slept  with  a: 
good  conscience,  and  whose  dreams  were  of  the  pleas- 
antest.  Close  drawn  to  his  was  another  chair,  against 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  257 

p 

which  he  leaned  somewhat,  and  over  the  arm  of  which 
one  hand  was  stretched,  resting  gently  upon  the  soft 
mass  of  deep  pink  roses,  whose  perfume  made  fra- 
grant the  whole  room.  I  spoke  to  him. 

"  Monsieur  Feurgeres,"  I  cried,  "  it  is  done.  I 
have  brought  Isobel.  She  is  here." 

There  was  no  answer.  Had  I,  indeed,  expected 
any,  I  could  almost  have  believed  that  the  smile,  so 
light  and  delicate  a  thing,  which  quivered  upon  his 
pale  lips,  deepened  a  little  as  I  spoke.  But  that,  of 
course,  was  fancy,  for  Monsieur  Feurgeres  had  won 
his  heart's  desire.  Softly,  and  with  fingers  which 
felt  almost  sacrilegious,  I  broke  off  one  of  the  blos- 
soms with  which  the  empty  chair  was  laden,  and  with 
it  in  my  hands  I  went  back  to  Isobel. 


17 


258  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   VI 

ISOBEL  knew  the  whole  truth.  I  told  her  one 
evening  —  the  only  one  on  which  we  two  had 
dined  out  together  alone.  I  think  that  the  weather 
had  tempted  me  to  this  indulgence,  which  I  had  up 
to  now  so  carefully  avoided.  An  early  summer,  with 
its  long  still  evenings,  had  driven  us  out  of  doors. 
The  leaves  which  rustled  over  our  heads,  stirred  by 
the  faintest  of  evening  breezes,  made  sweeter  music 
for  us  than  the  violins  of  the  more  fashionable  res- 
taurants, and  no  carved  ceiling  could  be  so  beautiful 
as  the  star-strewn  sky  above.  I  omitted  nothing. 
I  laid  the  whole  situation  before  her.  When  I  had 
finished,  she  was  very  white  and  very  quiet. 

"  And  now  that  you  have  told  me  all  this,"  she 
asked,  after  a  long  silence,  "  does  it  remain  for  me 
to  make  my  choice?  Even  now  I  do  not  see  my 
way  at  all  clearly.  My  relations  do  not  want  me. 
Monsieur  Feurgeres  has  left  m£  some  money. 
Cannot  I  choose  for  myself  how  I  shall  spend  my 
life?" 

"  I  am  afraid,"  I  answered,  "  that  you  may  not. 
For  my  part  I  am  bound  to  say,  Isobel,  that  I  think 
Monsieur  Feurgeres  was  right.  The  letter  of  which 
I  have  told  you,  and  which  I  found  in  my  room,  was 
written  only  a  few  hours  before  his  death.  At  such 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  259 

a  time  a  man  sees  clearly.  You  are  not  only  yourself 
the  Princess  Isobel  of  Waldenburg,  but  you  have  a 
grandfather  who  has  never  recovered  the  loss  of  your 
mother  and  of  you.  It  was  not  his  fault  or  by  his 
wish  that  you  were  sent  away  from  Waldenburg.  He 
has  been  deceived  all  the  time  by  your  aunt  the 
Archduchess.  I  think  that  it  is  your  duty  to  go  to 
him." 

"You  will  come  with  me?"  she  murmured 
anxiously. 

"  I  shall  not  leave  you,"  I  answered  slowly,  "  until 
you  are  in  his  charge.  But  afterwards " 

"  Well  ?  "  she  interrupted  anxiously. 

"  Afterwards,"  I  said,  firmly  keeping  my  eyes 
away  from  her  and  bracing  myself  for  the  effort, 
"  our  ways  must  lie  apart,  Isobel.  You  are  the 
daughter  of  one  of  Europe's  great  families,  you  have 
a  future  which  is  almost  a  destiny.  You  must  fulfil 
your  obligations." 

I  saw  the  look  in  her  face,  and  my  heart  ached  for 
her.  I  leaned  forward  in  my  chair. 

"  Dear  child,"  I  said,  "  remember  that  this  is  what 
your  mother  would  have  wished.  Monsieur  Feur- 
geres  believed  this  before  he  died,  and  I  think  that 
no  one  else  could  tell  so  well  what  she  would  have 
desired  for  you.  Just  now  it  may  seem  a  little  hard 
to  go  amongst  strangers,  to  begin  life  all  over  again 
at  your  age.  But,  after  all,  we  must  believe  that  it 
is  the  right  thing." 

Her  face  was  turned  away  from  me,  but  I  could 
see  that  her  cheeks  were  pale  and  her  lips  trembling. 
She  said  nothing,  I  fancied  because  she  dared  not 
trust  her  voice.  Above  the  tops  of  the  trees  the 


260  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

yellow  moon  was  slowly  rising;  from  a  few  yards 
away  came  all  the  varied  clatter  of  the  Boulevard. 
And  around  us  little  groups  and  couples  of  people 
were  gay  —  gay  with  the  invincible,  imperishable 
gaiety  of  the  Frenchman  who  dines.  The  white- 
aproned  waiters  smiled  as  with  deft  hands  they  served 
a  different  course,  or  with  a  few  wonderful  touches 
removed  all  traces  of  the  repast,  and  served  coffee 
and  liqueurs  upon  a  spotless  cloth.  And  amidst  it 
all  I  watched  with  aching  heart  Isobel,  the  child  of 
to-day,  the  woman  of  to-morrow,  as  she  fought  her 
battle. 

Her  face  seemed  marble-white  in  the  strange  light, 
lialf  natural,  half  artificial.  When  she  spoke  at  last 
she  still  kept  her  face  turned  away  from  me. 

"  The  right  thing !  "  she  murmured.  "  That  is 
what  I  want  to  do.  I  want  to  do  what  she  would 
have  wished.  But  just  now  it  seems  a  little  hard. 
I  do  not  want  to  be  a  princess.  I  do  not  want  to  be 
rich.  Monsieur  Feurgeres  has  made  me  independent, 
and  that  is  all  I  desire.  I  would  like  to  be  free  to 
live  always  my  own  life  —  free  like  you  and  Allan, 
who  paint  and  write  and  think,  for  I,  too,  would  love 
so  much  to  be  an  artist.  But  it  seems  that  all  these 
things  have  been  decided  for  me  —  by  you  and  Mon- 
sieur Feurgeres.  No,"  she  added  quickly,  "  I  know 
very  well  that  you  are  right.  I  am  willing  to  do 
what  Monsieur  Feurgeres  thinks  that  my  mother 
would  have  wished.  I  will  go  to  my  grandfather, 
and  if  he  wishes  it  I  will  stay  with  him.  But  there 
will  be  a  condition !  " 

She  turned  at  last  and  looked  at  me.  The  lines 
of  her  mouth  had  altered,  the  carriage  of  her  head, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  261 

a  subtle  change  in  her  tone,  told  their  own  story. 
It  was  the  Princess  Isobel  who  spoke. 

"  I  will  not  have  my  mother  ignored  or  spoken  of 
as  one  who  forgot  her  rank  and  station.  These  are 
all  very  well,  but  they  are  trifles  compared  with  the 
great  things  of  life.  I  am  proud  of  my  mother's 
courage,  I  am  proud  of  the  love  which  made  his  life, 
after  she  had  gone,  so  beautiful.  I  know  that  you 
understand  me,  Arnold,  but  I  do  not  think  that  those 
others  will.  They  must  bear  with  me,  or  I  shall  not 
stay." 

I  looked  at  her  wonderingly.  It  seemed  to  me  so 
strange  that,  under  our  very  eyes,  the  child  whom  I 
had  led  by  the  hand  through  Covent  Garden  on  that 
bright  Spring  morning  should  have  developed  in 
thought  and  mind  under  our  own  roof,  and  with  so 
little  conscious  instruction,  into  a  woman  of  percep- 
tions and  character.  Somewhere  the  seed  of  these 
things  must  have  lain  hidden.  One  knows  so  little, 
after  all,  of  those  whom  one  knows  best. 

"  It  is  a  fair  condition,  Isobel,"  I  said.  "  You 
are  going  into  a  world  which  is  hedged  about  with 
conventions  and  prejudices.  The  things  which  are 
so  clear  to  you  and  to  me,  they  may  look  at  differently. 
You  must  be  received  as  your  mother's  daughter, 
and  not  as  the  King's  granddaughter." 

She  nodded  gravely.  Then  she  leaned  across  the 
table  and  looked  into  my  eyes.  Notwithstanding 
her  pallor  and  her  black  dress,  I  was  forced  to  realize 
what  I  ever  forbade  my  thoughts  to  dwell  upon  —  her 
great  and  increasing  beauty.  She  looked  into  my 
eyes,  and  my  heart  stood  still. 

"Arnold,"  she  murmured,  "shall  you  miss  me?" 


•262  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

My  heel  dug  into  the  turf  beneath  my  foot.  My 
eyes  fell  from  hers.  I  dared  not  look  at  her. 

"  We  shall  all  miss  you  so  much,"  I  said  gravely, 
"  that  life  will  never  be  the  same  again  to  us.  You 
made  it  beautiful  for  a  little  time,  and  your  absence 
will  be  hard  to  bear.  I  suppose  we  shall  all  turn 
to  hard  work,"  I  added,  with  an  attempt  at  light- 
ness. "  Allan  will  paint  his  great  picture,  Arthur 
will  invent  a  new  motor  and  make  his  fortune,  and 
I  shall  write  my  immortal  story." 

"  The  story,"  she  said,  "  which  you  would  not 
show  me  ?  " 

Show  her!  How  could  I,  when  I  knew  that  for 
one  who  read  between  the  lines  the  story  of  my  own 
suffering  was  there?  My  secret  had  been  hard 
enough  to  keep  faithfully,  even  from  her  to  whom  the 
truth,  had  she  ever  divined  it,  must  have  seemed  so 
incredible. 

"  That  one,  perhaps,"  I  answered  lightly,  "  or  the 
next!  Who  can  tell?  One  is  never  a  judge  of  one's 
own  work,  you  know." 

"  Why  would  you  not  show  me  that  story, 
Arnold  ?  "  she  asked  softly. 

I  met  her  eyes  fixed  upon  me  with  a  peculiar 
intentness.  I  tried  to  escape  them,  but  I  could  not. 
It  was  impossible  for  me  to  lie  to  her.  My  voice 
shook  as  I  answered  her. 

"  Don't  ask  me,  Isobel!  "  I  said.  "  We  all  make 
mistakes  sometime,  you  know.  Not  to  show  you  that 
story  when  you  asked  me  was  one  of  mine." 

"  If  you  had  it  here ?" 

"  If  I  had  it  here  I  would  show  it  you,"  I  declared. 

She  sighed.    She  did  not  seem  altogether  satisfied. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  263 

"  Sometimes,  Arnold,"  she  said  thoughtfully,  "  you 
puzzle  me  very  much.  You  treat  me  always  as  though 
I  were  a  child;  you  keep  me  at  arm's  length  always, 
as  though  there  were  between  us  some  impassable 
barrier,  as  though  it  could  never  be  possible  for  you 
to  come  into  my  world  or  for  me  to  pass  into  yours. 
I  know  that  you  are  wiser  and  cleverer  than  I  am, 
but  I  can  learn.  I  have  been  learning  all  the  time. 
Are  we  always  to  remain  at  this  great  distance  ?  " 

"  Dear  Isobel,"  I  answered,  "  you  forget  that  I  am 
more  than  twice  your  age.  You  are  eighteen,  and  I 
am  thirty-four.  I  cannot  make  myself  young  like 
you.  I  cannot  call  back  the  years,  however  much  I 
might  wish  to  do  so.  And  for  the  rest,  I  have  been 
your  guardian.  I,  a  poor  writer  of  no  particular 
family  and  very  meagre  fortune,  and  you  my  ward, 
a  princess  standing  at  the  opposite  pole  of  life.  I  have 
had  to  remember  these  things,  Isobel." 

She  leaned  a  little  further  across  the  table.  Again 
her  eyes  held  mine,  and  I  felt  my  heart  beat  like  a 
boy's  at  the  touch  of  her  soft  white  fingers  as  she  laid 
her  hand  on  mine. 

"  I  wish,"  she  murmured,  "  oh,  I  wish " 

"  So  we  've  found  you  at  last,  have  we  ?  " 

Isobel's  speech  was  never  ended.  Mabane  and 
Arthur  stood  within  a  few  feet  of  us,  the  former 
grave,  the  latter  white  and  angry.  I  rose  slowly  to 
my  feet  and  held  out  my  hand  to  Allan. 

"  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  Allan ! "  I  said. 

He  looked  first  at  my  hand,  and  afterwards  at 
me.  Then,  with  a  sigh  of  relief,  he  took  it  and  nearly 
wrung  it  off. 

"  And  I  can't  tell  you  how  glad  I  am  to  see  you 


264  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

both  again !  "  he  exclaimed.  "  We  've  heard  strange 
stories  —  or  rather  Arthur  has  —  from  his  friend 
Lady  Delahaye,  and  at  last  we  decided  to  come  over 
and  find  out  all  about  it  for  ourselves.  Don't  take 
any  notice  of  Arthur,"  he  added  under  his  breath, 
"  he  's  not  quite  himself." 

Arthur  was  standing  with  his  back  to  me,  talking 
to  Isobel.  Certainly  her  welcome  was  flattering 
enough.  I  realized  with  a  sudden  gravity  that  I 
had  not  heard  her  laugh  like  this  since  she  had  been 
in  England.  Arthur  continued  talking  in  a  low, 
earnest  tone. 

"  How  did  you  find  us?  "  I  asked  Allan. 

"We  called  at  the  Rue  de  St.  Antoine,"  he 
answered.  "The  housekeeper  said  that  she  had 
heard  you  talk  about  dining  at  one  of  these  places. 
Arnold?" 

"Well?" 

"  Why  are  you  and  Isobel  staying  on  in  Paris  ?  " 

"  First  of  all,"  I  answered  promptly,  "  we  had  to 
stay  for  the  funeral,  and  now  there  are  some  legal 
formalites  which  cannot  be  finished  until  to-morrow. 
I  am  Monsieur  Feurgeres'  executor,  Allan,  and  he 
has  left  me  twenty  thousand  pounds.  Isobel  has  the 
rest." 

"  I  am  delighted,  old  chap,"  Mabane  declared 
heartily.  "  In  fact,  I  '11  drink  your  health." 

I  called  a  waiter  and  ordered  liqueurs.  Arthur 
took  his  with  an  ill  grace,  and  he  still  avoided  any 
direct  speech  with  me.  Isobel  was  evidently  uneasy, 
and  looked  at  me  once  or  twice  as  though  anxious 
that  I  should  break  up  their  tete-a-tete.  But  when  I 
had  paid  the  bill  and  we  rose  to  go,  Allan  passed  his 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  26$ 

arm  through  mine,  and  I  was  forced  to  let  the  two 
go  on. 

"  Let  the  boy  have  his  chance,"  Allan  said,  pausing 
a  little  as  we  turned  into  the  Boulevard.  "  He  's  in 
such  a  state  that  he  won't  listen  to  reason  only  from 
her." 

"  But,"  I  protested,  "it  is  absurd  for  him  to  speak 
to  her.  Does  he  know  who  she  is?  The  Princess 
Isobel  of  Waldenburg !  Their  little  kingdom  is  small 
enough,  but  they  play  at  royalty  there." 

Allan  nodded. 

"  He  knows.  But  he 's  a  good-looking  boy,  and 
the  girls  have  spoilt  him  a  little.  He  has  an  idea 
that  she  cares  for  him." 

"  Impossible !  "  I  declared,  sharply. 

"  No !  Not  impossible !  "  Allan  answered,  shak- 
ing his  head.  "  They  have  been  together  a  great 
deal,  you  must  remember,  and  Arthur  can  be  a  very 
delightful  companion  when  he  chooses.  No,  it  is  n't 
impossible,  Arnold." 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  Isobel's  future  is  already  arranged,"  I  said.  "  In 
three  days'  time  I  am  taking  her  to  her  grandfather. 
If  he  receives  her,  as  I  believe  that  he  will  receive 
her,  she  will  pass  out  of  our  lives  as  easily  as  she 
came  into  them.  She  will  marry  a  grand  duke,  per- 
haps even  a  petty  king.  She  will  be  plunged  into 
all  manner  of  excitements  and  gaiety.  Her  years 
with  us  will  never  be  mentioned  at  Court.  She  her- 
self will  soon  learn  to  look  back  on  them  as  a  quaint 
episode." 

"  You  do  not  believe  it,  Arnold  ?  "  Mabane  declared 
scornfully. 


•266  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Heaven  only  knows  what  I  believe,"  I  answered, 
with  a  little  burst  of  bitterness.  "  Look  at  that !  " 

We  had  reached  the  Rue  de  St.  Antoine.  Isobel 
stood  in  the  doorway  at  the  apartments  waiting  for 
us.  But  Arthur  had  already  disappeared. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  267 


CHAPTER   VII 

I  EXAMINED  the  tickets  carefully  and  placed 
them  in  my  pocket-book.  Then  I  paused  to 
light  a  cigarette  on  my  way  out  of  the  office,  and 
almost  immediately  felt  a  hand  upon  my  arm.  I 
looked  at  first  at  the  hand.  It  was  feminine  and  deli- 
cately gloved.  Then  I  looked  upwards  into  the  blue 
eyes  of  Lady  Delahaye. 

"  Abominable !  "  she  murmured.  "  You  are  not 
glad  to  see  me !  " 

I  raised  my  hat. 

"  The  Boulevard  des  Italiennes,"  I  said,  "  has 
never  seemed  to  me  to  be  a  place  peculiarly  suitable 
for  the  display  of  emotion." 

"  Come  and  try  the  Rue  Strelitz,"  she  answered, 
smiling. 

I  glanced  down  at  her.  She  was  gowned  even  more 
perfectly  than  usual  —  Parisienne  to  the  finger-tips. 
She  had  too  all  the  delightful  confidence  of  a  woman 
who  knows  that  she  is  looking  her  best. 

I  smiled  back  at  her.  It  was  impossible  to  take 
her  seriously. 

"  Your  invitation,"  I  said,  "  sounds  most  attract- 
ive. But  I  am  curious  to  know  what  would  happen 
to  me  in  the  Rue  Strelitz.  Should  I  be  offered  poison 
in  a  jewelled  cup,  or  disposed  of  in  a  cruder  fashion? 


268  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Let  me  make  my  will  first,  and  I  will  come.  I  am 
really  curious ! " 

"  Arnold,"  she  said,  looking  up  at  me  with  very 
bright  eyes,  "  you  are  brutal." 

"  Not  quite  that,  I  hope,"  I  protested. 

"  Let  me  tell  you  something,"  she  continued. 

We  were  in  rather  a  conspicuous  position.  Lady 
Delahaye  seemed  suddenly  to  realize  it. 

"May  I  beg  for  your  escort  a  little  way?"  she 
said.  "  I  am  not  comfortable  upon  the  Boulevard 
alone." 

"  You  could  scarcely  fail,"  I  remarked,  throwing 
away  my  cigarette,  "to  be  an  object  of  attention 
from  the  Frenchman,  who  is  above  all  things  a  judge 
of  your  sex.  I  will  accompany  you  a  little  way  with 
pleasure.  Shall  we  take  a  fiacre?" 

"  I  would  rather  walk,"  she  answered.  "  Do  you 
mind  coming  this  way  ?  I  will  not  take  you  far." 

"  I  have  two  whole  unoccupied  hours,"  I  assured 
her,  "  which  are  very  much  at  your  service." 

"Where,  then,"  she  asked,  "is  Isobel?" 

"  Shopping  with  Tobain,"  I  answered. 

"  Are  you  not  afraid,"  she  asked  with  a  smile,  "  to 
send  her  out  alone  with  Tobain?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  I  answered.  "  Monsieur  Feur- 
geres'  only  friend  in  Paris  was  the  chief  commissioner 
of  police,  and  he  has  been  good  enough  to  take  great 
interest  in  us.  Isobel  is  well  watched." 

"  I  wonder,"  she  said,  after  a  moment's  pause, 
"  whether  you  have  still  any  faith  in  me !  " 

"My  dear  lady!" 

"  I  wish  I  could  make  you  believe  me.  The  — 
her  Highness  —  she  prefers  us  here  to  call  her 


THE   MASTER   MUMMEK  269 

Madame  —  has  relinquished  altogether  her  designs 
against  you.     She  desires  an  alliance." 

"  Is  this,"  I  asked,  "  an  invitation  to  me  to  join 
in  the  spoils  ?  Am  I  to  become  murderer,  or  poisoner, 
or  abductor,  or  what  ?  " 

Lady  Delahaye  bit  her  lip. 

"  You  are  altogether  too  severe,"  she  said.  "  Ma- 
dame simply  realizes  that  she  has  been  mistaken. 
She  is  willing  for  Isobel  to  be  restored  to  her  grand- 
father. It  will  mean  a  million  or  so  less  dowry  for 
Adelaide,  but  that  must  be  faced.  Madame  desires 
to  make  peace  with  you." 

"  I  am  charmed,"  I  answered.  "  May  I  ask  exactly; 
what  this  means  ?  " 

Lady  Delahaye  smiled  up  at  me. 

"  The  Archduchess  will  explain  to  you  herself/* 
she  said.  "  I  am  taking  you  to  her." 

I  slackened  my  pace. 

"I  think  not,"  I  said.  "To  tell  you  the  truth, 
the  Archduchess  terrifies  me.  I  see  myself  inveigled 
into  a  room  with  a  trap-door,  or  knocked  on  the 
head  by  hired  bullies,  and  all  manner  of  disagreeable 
things.  No,  Lady  Delahaye,  I  think  that  I  will  not 
run  the  risk." 

She  laughed  softly. 

"  I  know  that  you  will  come,"  she  said  softly. 

"And  why?"  I  asked. 

"  Because  you  are  a  man,  and  you  do  not  know 
fear!" 

I  raised  my  hat  and  proceeded. 

"  My  head  is  turned,"  I  said.  "  Nothing  flatters 
a  coward  so  much  as  the  imputation  of  bravery. 
I  think  that  I  shall  go  with  you  anywhere." 


270  THE   MASTER    MUMMER 

"  Even  —  to  the  Rue  Strelitz  ?  " 

"  My  courage  may  fail  me  at  the  last  moment," 
I  answered.  "  At  present  it  feels  equal  even  to  the 
Rue  Strelitz." 

Again  she  laughed. 

"  You  are  a  fraud,  Arnold,"  she  declared.  "  As  if 
we  did  not  know  —  I  and  Madame  and  all  of  us,  that 
in  Paris,  even  throughout  France,  you  could  walk 
safely  into  any  den  of  thieves  you  choose.  Your 
courage  is  n't  worth  a  snap  of  the  fingers.  Any  man 
can  be  brave  who  has  the  archangels  of  Dotant  at  his 
elbows." 

"  What  an  easily  pricked  reputation,"  I  answered 
regretfully.  "  Well,  it  is  true.  Dotant  was  Feur- 
geres'  greatest  friend,  and  even  Isobel  might  walk 
the  streets  of  Paris  alone  and  in  safety.  Hence, 
I  presume,  the  amiable  desire  of  the  Archduchess 
for  an  alliance." 

Lady  Delahaye  shrugged  her  lace-clad  shoulders. 

"  My  dear  Arnold,"  she  said,  "  for  myself  I  adore 
candour,  and  why  should  I  try  and  deceive  you  ? 
Madame  has  played  a  losing  game,  and  knows  it. 
She  has  the  courage  to  admit  defeat.  She  can  still 
offer  enough  to  make  an  alliance  desirable.  For 
instance,  those  tickets  in  your  pocket  for  Illghera 
will  take  you  there,  it  is  true,  but  they  will  not  take 
you  into  the  presence  of  the  King." 

"  The  King,"  I  remarked  pensively,  "  leads  a 
retired  life." 

"  He  does,"  Lady  Delahaye  answered.  "  He  has 
the  greatest  objection  to  visitors,  and  for  a  stranger 
to  obtain  an  audience  is  almost  an  impossibility. 
He  never  leaves  the  grounds  of  the  villa,  and  his 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  271 

secretary,  who  opens  all  his  letters,  is  —  a  friend  of 
Madame's." 

:<  You  have  put  your  case  admirably,"  I  remarked. 
"  If  Madame  is  sincere,  I  should  at  least  like  to  hear 
what  she  has  to  say." 

Lady  Delahaye  drew  a  little  sigh  of  content. 

"  At  last,"  she  exclaimed,  "  I  do  believe  that  you 
are  going  to  behave  like  a  reasonable  person." 

I  could  not  refrain  from  the  natural  retort. 

"  I  have  an  idea,"  I  said,  "  that  up  to  now  my 
actions  have  been  fairly  well  justified." 

We  were  mounting  the  steps  of  her  house.  She 
looked  round  and  raised  her  eyebrows. 

"  We  must  let  bygones  be  bygones ! "  she  said. 
"  Madame  has  declared  that  henceforth  she  adjures 
all  intrigue." 

A  footman  took  my  hat  and  stick  in  the  hall. 
Lady  Delahaye  led  me  into  a  small  boudoir  leading- 
out  of  a  larger  room.  She  herself  only  opened  the 
door  and  closed  it,  remaining  outside.  I  was  alone 
with  the  Archduchess. 

She  rose  slowly  to  her  feet,  a  very  graceful  and 
majestic-looking  person,  with  a  suggestion  of  Isobel 
in  her  thin  neck  and  the  pose  of  her  head.  She  did 
not  hold  out  her  hand,  and  she  surveyed  me  very 
critically.  I  ventured  to  bestow  something  of  the 
same  attention  upon  her.  She  was  certainly  a  very 
beautiful  woman,  and  her  expression  by  no  means 
displeasing.  She  had  Isobel's  dark  blue  eyes,  and 
there  was  a  humorous  line  about  her  mouth  which 
astonished  me. 

"  I  am  not  offering  you  my  hand,  Mr.  Greatson," 
she  said,  "  because  I  presume  that  until  we  under- 


272  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

stand  each  other  better  it  would  be  a  mere  matter 
of  form.  Still,  I  am  glad  that  you  have  come  to 
see  me." 

"  I  am  very  glad  too,  Madame,"  I  answered, 
"  especially  if  my  visit  leads  to  a  cessation  of  the 
somewhat  remarkable  proceedings  of  the  last  few 
weeks." 

The  Archduchess  smiled. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  am  forced  to  admit  myself 
beaten.  I  have  been  ill-served,  it  is  true,  but  I  sup- 
pose my  methods  are  antiquated." 

"  They  belong  properly,"  I  admitted,  "  to  a  few 
centuries  ago." 

Madame  smiled  a  little  queerly. 

"  A  few  centuries  ago,"  she  said,  "  I  fancy  that 
if  our  family  history  is  true,  the  affair  would  have 
been  more  simple." 

"  I  can  well  believe  it,"  I  answered. 

Madame  relapsed  into  her  chair,  from  which 
I  judged  that  the  preliminary  skirmishing  was 
over. 

"  You  will  please  to  be  seated,  Mr.  Greatson ! " 

I  obeyed. 

"  I  am  not  going  to  play  the  hypocrite  with  you, 
sir,"  she  said  quietly.  "  It  is  not  worth  while,  is 
it?  The  object  of  the  struggle  between  us  has  been, 
on  my  part,  to  keep  Isobel  and  her  grandfather  apart. 
You  have  doubtless  correctly  gauged  my  motive. 
Isobel's  mother  was  my  father's  favourite  child.  If 
he  had  an  idea  that  her  child  was  alive,  he  would 
receive  her  without  a  word.  She  would  completely 
usurp  the  place  of  Adelaide,  my  own  daughter,  in 
his  affection  —  and  in  his  will." 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  273 

"In  his  will!"  I  repeated  quietly.  "Yes,  I 
understand." 

Madame  nodded. 

"  It  is  quite  simple,"  she  said.  "  For  myself  I  am 
willing  to  admit  that  I  am  an  ambitious  woman. 
Money  for  its  own  sake  I  take  no  heed  of,  but  it 
remains  always  one  of  the  great  levers  of  the  world, 
and  it  is  the  only  lever  by  means  of  which  I  can  gain 
what  I  desire.  I  never  forget  that  the  country  over 
which  my  father  rules  was  once  an  absolute  kingdom, 
and  semi-Royalty  does  not  appeal  to  me.  The  be- 
trothal of  my  daughter  Adelaide  to  Ferdinand  of 
Saxonia  was  of  my  planning  entirely.  The  dowry 
required  by  the  Council  of  Saxonia  is  so  large 
that  it  could  not  possibly  be  paid  if  any  portion  of 
my  father's  fortune,  great  though  it  is,  is  diverted 
towards  Isobel.  Hence  my  desire  to  keep  Isobel  and 
her  grandfather  apart." 

"  Madame,"  I  said,  "  you  are  candour  itself.  I 
can  only  regret  that  it  is  my  hard  fate  to  oppose 
such  admirable  plans." 

"  I  have  been  given  to  understand,"  the  Arch- 
duchess said,  "  that  it  is  now  your  intention  to  take 
Isobel  yourself  to  Illghera !  " 

"  The  tickets,"  I  murmured,  "  are  in  my  pocket." 

Madame  bowed. 

"  Well,"  she  said,  "  I  have  seen  and  heard  enough 
of  you  to  make  no  further  effort  to  thwart  or  even 
to  influence  you.  Yet  I  have  a  proposition  to  make. 
First  of  all,  consider  these  things.  If  we  come  to 
no  arrangement  with  each  other  I  shall  use  every 
means  I  can  to  prevent  your  obtaining  an  inter- 
view with  my  father.  Everything  is  in  my  favour- 

18 


274  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

He  is  very  old,  he  has  a  hatred  of  strangers,  he  grants 
audiences  to  no  one.  He  never  passes  outside  the 
grounds  of  the  villa,  and  all  the  gates  are  guarded 
by  sentries,  who  admit  no  one  save  those  who  have 
the  entree.  Then,  if  you  attempt  to  approach  him 
by  correspondence,  his  private  secretary,  who  opens 
every  letter,  is  one  of  my  own  appointing.  I  have 
exaggerated  none  of  these  things.  It  will  be  difficult 
for  you  to  approach  the  King.  You  may  succeed 
—  you  seem  to  have  the  knack  of  success  —  but  it 
will  take  time.  Isobel's  re-appearance  will  be  with- 
out dignity,  and  open  to  many  remarks  for  various 
reasons.  You  may  even  fail  to  convince  my  father, 
and  if  you  failed  the  first  time  there  would  be  no 
second  opportunity." 

"  What  you  say,  Madame,"  I  admitted,  "  is  reason- 
able. I  have  never  assumed  that  as  yet  my  task  is 
completed.  I  recognize  fully  the  difficulties  that  are 
still  before  me." 

"  You  have  common-sense,  Mr.  Greatson,  I  am 
glad  to  see,"  she  continued.  "  I  am  the  more  inclined 
to  hope  that  you  will  accede  to  my  proposition. 
•Briefly,  it  is  this !  Let  me  have  the  credit  of  bringing 
Isobel  to  her  grandfather.  Her  year  in  London 
would  at  all  times,  in  these  days  of  scandal,  be  a 
somewhat  delicate  matter  to  publish.  What  you 
have  done,  you  have  done,  as  I  very  well  know,  from 
no  hope  of  or  desire  for  reward.  Efface  yourself. 
It  will  be  for  Isobel's  good.  I  myself  shall  stand 
sponsor  for  her  to  the  world.  I  shall  have  discovered 
her  in  the  convent  here,  and  I  shall  take  her  back  to 
her  rightful  place  with  triumph.  All  your  difficulties 
then  will  vanish,  your  end  will  have  been  creditably 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  275 

and  adequately  attained.  For  myself  the  advantage 
is  obvious.  A  difference  to  Adelaide  it  must  make, 
but  it  will  inevitably  be  less  if  the  credit  of  her  dis- 
covery remains  with  me.  Have  I  made  myself  clear, 
Mr.  Greatson?" 

"  Perfectly,"  I  answered.  "  But  you  forget  there 
is  Isobel  herself  to  be  considered.  She  is  no  longer 
a  child.  She  has  opinions  and  a  will  of  her  own." 

"  She  owes  too  much  to  you,"  Madame  replied 
quietly,  "  to  disregard  your  wishes." 

I  believed  from  the  first  that  the  woman  was  in 
earnest,  and  her  proposal  an  honest  one.  And  yet 
I  hesitated.  The  past  was  a  little  recent.  She  showed 
that  she  read  my  thoughts. 

"  Come,"  she  said,  "  I  will  prove  to  you  that  I 
mean  what  I  say.  To-night  I  will  give  a  dinner- 
party —  informal,  it  is  true,  but  the  Prince  of  Cleves, 
my  cousin  the  Cardinal,  and  your  own  ambassador,, 
shall  come.  I  will  introduce  Isobel  as  my  niece. 
The  affair  will  then  be  established.  Do  you  consent  ?  " 

For  one  moment  I  hesitated.  I  knew  very  well 
what  my  answer  meant.  Absolute  effacement,  the 
tearing  out  of  my  life  for  ever  of  what  had  become 
the  sweetest  part  of  it.  In  that  single  moment  it 
seemed  to  me  that  I  realized  with  something  like 
complete  despair  the  barrenness  of  the  days  to  come. 

"  Madame,  if  Isobel  is  to  be  persuaded,"  I  an- 
swered, "  I  consent." 


276  iTHE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   VIII 

"^T^HIS,  then,"  the  Prince  remarked,  raising  his 
J_  eyeglass,  "is  the  young  lady  whose  romantic 
history  you  have  been  recounting  to  me?  But,  my 
dear  lady,  she  is  charming !  " 

Madame  held  out  her  hands  affectionately  and 
kissed  Isobel,  who  had  entered  the  room  with  her 
cousin,  on  both  cheeks.  Then  she  took  her  by  the 
hand  and  presented  her  to  the  Prince  of  Cleves  and 
several  others  of  the  company.  Isobel  was  a  little 
pale,  but  her  manner  was  perfectly  easy  and  self- 
possessed.  She  was  dressed,  somewhat  to  my  sur- 
prise, in  the  deepest  mourning,  and  she  even  wore  a 
band  of  black  velvet  around  her  neck. 

"  My  dear  child,"  her  aunt  said  pleasantly,  "  I 
scarcely  think  that  your  toilette  is  a  compliment  to 
us  all.  White  should  be  your  colour  for  many  years 
to  come." 

Isobel  raised  her  eyes.  Her  tone  was  no  louder 
than  ordinary,  but  somehow  her  voice  seemed  to  be 
possessed  of  unusually  penetrating  qualities. 

"  My  dear  aunt,"  she  said,  "  you  forget  I  am 
in  mourning  for  my  stepfather,  Monsieur  Feurgere% 
who  was  very  good  to  me." 

A  company  of  perfectly  bred  people  accepted  the 
remark  in  sympathetic  silence.  There  was  not  even 
an  eyebrow  raised,  but  I  fancy  that  Isobel's  words, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  277 

calmly  spoken  and  with  obvious  intent,  struck  the 
keynote  of  her  future  relations  with  her  aunt. 

Isobel,  a  few  minutes  later,  brought  her  cousin 
over  to  me. 

"  Adelaide  is  very  anxious  to  know  you,  Arnold !  " 
she  said  quietly.  This  was  all  the  introduction  she 
offered.  Immediately  afterwards  her  aunt  called 
Isobel  away  to  be  presented  to  a  new  arrival. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  Adelaide  said  earnestly,  "  I  can- 
not tell  you  how  delighted  I  am  that  all  this  trouble 
is  over,  and  that  Isobel  is  coming  to  us.  But  I  think 
—  I  think  she  is  paying  too  great  a  price.  I  think 
my  mother  is  hatefully,  wickedly  cruel ! " 

"  My  dear  young  lady,"  I  protested,  "  I  do  not 
think  that  you  must  say  that.  Your  mother's  con- 
ditions are  necessary.  In  fact,  whether  she  made 
them  or  not,  I  think  that  they  would  be  inevitable." 

"  You  are  not  even  to  come  to  Illghera  with  us? 
Not  to  visit  us  even?" 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  I  belong  to  the  great  family  of  Bohemians/'  I 
reminded  her,  "  who  have  no  possessions  and  but 
one  dress  suit.  What  should  I  do  at  Court  ?  " 

"What  indeed!"  she  answered,  with  a  little  sigh, 
"  for  you  are  a  citizen  of  the  greater  world ! " 

"  There  is  no  such  thing/'  I  answered.  "  We  carry 
our  own  world  with  us.  We  make  it  small  or  large 
with  our  own  hands." 

"  For  some,"  she  murmured,  "  the  task  then  is 
very  difficult.  Where  one  lives  in  a  forcing-house 
of  conventions,  and  the  doors  are  fast  locked,  it  is 
very  easy  to  be  stifled,  but  it  is  hard  indeed  to 
breathe." 


278  THE  MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Princess,"  I  said  gravely,  "  have  you  examined 
the  windows  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  understand  you,"  she  answered. 

"  But  it  is  simple,  surely,"  I  declared.  "  Even  if 
you  must  remain  in  the  forcing-house,  it  is  for  you 
to  open  the  windows  and  breathe  what  air  you  will. 
For  your  thoughts  at  least  are  free,  and  it  is  of  our 
thoughts  that  our  lives  are  fashioned." 

She  sighed. 

"  Ah,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  one  does  not  talk 
like  that  at  Court." 

"  You  have  a  great  opportunity,"  I  answered. 
"  Character  is  a  flower  which  blossoms  in  all  manner 
of  places.  Sometimes  it  comes  nearest  to  perfection 
in  the  most  unlikely  spots.  Prosperity  and  sunshine 
are  not  the  best  things  in  the  world  for  it  Some- 
times in  the  gloomy  and  desolate  places  its  growth 
is  the  sturdiest  and  its  flowers  the  sweetest." 

The  service  of  dinner  had  .been  announced.  The 
English  Ambassador  took  Adelaide  away  from  me, 
but  as  she  accepted  his  arm  she  looked  me  in  the 
eyes  with  a  grave  but  wonderfully  sweet  smile. 

"  I  thank  you  very  much,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said. 
"  Our  little  conversation  has  been  most  pleasant." 

The  Archduchess  swept  up  to  me.  She  was  look- 
ing a  little  annoyed. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said,  "  Isobel  is  pleading  shy- 
ness—  an  absurd  excuse.  She  insists  that  you  take 
her  in  to  dinner.  I  suppose  she  must  have  her  own 
way  to-night,  but  it  is  annoying." 

Madame  looked  at  me  as  though  it  were  my  fault 
that  her  plans  were  disarranged,  which  was  a  little 
unfair.  And  then  Isobel,  very  serene,  but  with  that 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  279 

weary  look  about  the  eyes  which  seemed  only  to  have 
increased  during  the  evening,  came  quietly  up  and 
took  my  arm. 

"  If  this  is  to  be  our  last  evening,  Arnold,  we  will 
at  least  spend  as  much  of  it  as  possible  together," 
she  said  gently.  "  I  will  be  a  very  dutiful  niece, 
aunt,  to-morrow." 

We  moved  off  together,  but  not  before  I  was 
struck  with  something  singular  in  Madame's  expres- 
sion. She  stood  looking  at  us  two  as  though  some 
wholly  new  idea  had  presented  itself  to  her.  She 
did  not  follow  us  into  the  dining-room  for  some  few 
moments. 

The  dinner  itself,  for  an  informal  one,  was  a  very 
brilliant  function.  There  were  eighteen  of  us  at  a 
large  round  table,  which  would  easily  have  accom- 
modated twenty-four.  The  Cardinal,  whose  scarlet 
robes  in  themselves  formed  a  strange  note  of  colour, 
sat  on  the  Archduchess's  right,  touching  scarcely  any 
of  the  dishes  which  were  continually  presented  to 
him,  and  sipping  occasionally  from  the  glass  of  water 
at  his  side.  The  other  men  and  women  were  all  dis- 
tinguished, and  their  conversation,  mostly  carried  on 
in  French,  was  apt,  and  at  times  brilliant.  Isobel 
and  I  perhaps,  the  former  particularly,  contributed 
least  to  the  general  fund.  Isobel  met  the  advances 
of  her  right-hand  neighbour  with  the  barest  of  mono- 
syllables. Lady  Delahaye,  who  sat  on  my  left,  left 
me  for  the  most  part  discreetly  alone.  Yet  we  two 
spoke  very  little.  I  could  see  that  Isobel  was  dis- 
posed to  be  hysterical,  and  that  her  outward  calm 
was  only  attained  by  means  of  an  unnatural  effort. 
Yet  I  fancied  that  my  being  near  soothed  her,  and 


280  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

every  time  I  spoke  to  her  or  she  to  me,  a  certain 
relief  came  into  her  face.  All  the  while  I  was  con- 
scious of  one  strange  thing.  The  Archduchess,  al- 
though she  had  the  Cardinal  on  one  side  and  the 
Prince  of  Cleves  on  the  other,  was  continually  watch- 
ing us.  Her  interest  in  their  conversation  was  purely 
superficial.  Her  interest  in  us,  on  the  contrary, 
was  an  absorbing  one.  I  could  not  understand  it 
at  all. 

The  conclusion  of  dinner  was  marked  by  an  ab- 
sence of  all  ceremony.  The  cigarettes  had  already 
been  passed  round  before  the  Archduchess  rose,  but 
those  who  chose  to  remain  at  the  table  did  so.  Isobel 
leaned  over  and  whispered  in  my  ear. 

"  Come  with  me  into  the  drawing-room.  I  want 
to  talk  to  you." 

I  obeyed,  and  the  Archduchess  seemed  to  me  pur- 
posely to  leave  us  alone.  We  sat  in  a  quiet  corner, 
and  when  I  saw  that  there  were  tears  in  Isobel's 
eyes,  I  knew  that  my  time  of  trial  was  not  yet 
over. 

"  Arnold,"  she  said  quietly,  "  you  care  —  whether 
I  am  happy  or  not?  You  have  done  so  much  for  me 
—  you  must  care !  " 

"  You  cannot  doubt  it,  Isobel,"  I  answered. 

"  I  do  not.  This  sort  of  life  will  not  suit  me  at 
all.  I  do  not  trust  my  aunt.  I  am  weary  of 
strangers.  Let  us  give  it  all  up.  Take  me  back  to 
London  with  you.  I  feel  as  though  I  were  going 
into  prison." 

"  Dear  Isobel,"  I  said,  "  you  must  remember  why 
we  decided  that  it  was  right  for  you  to  rejoin  your 
people." 


THE    MASTER   MUMMER  281 

"  Oh,  I  know,"  she  answered.  "  But  even  to  the 
last  Monsieur  Feurgeres  hesitated.  My  mother  would 
never  have  wished  me  to  be  miserable." 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  I  believe  that  Feurgeres  was  right,"  I  answered. 
"  I  believe  that  your  mother  would  wish  to  see  you 
in  your  rightful  place.  I  believe  that  it  is  your  duty 
to  claim  it." 

Then  I  think  that  for  the  first  time  Isobel  was 
unfair  to  me,  and  spoke  words  which  hurt. 

"  You  do  not  wish  to  have  me  back  again,"  she 
said  slowly.  "  I  have  been  a  trouble  to  you,  I  know, 
and  I  have  upset  your  life.  You  want  me  to  go 
away." 

I  did  not  answer  her.  I  could  not.  She  leaned 
forward  and  looked  into  my  face,  and  instantly  her 
tone  changed.  Her  soft  fingers  clutched  mine  for 
a  moment. 

"  Dear  Arnold,"  she  whispered,  "  I  am  sorry !  For- 
give me!  I  will  do  what  you  think  best.  I  did  not 
mean  to  hurt  you." 

"  I  am  quite  sure  that  you  did  not,  Isobel,"  I  an- 
swered. "  Listen !  I  am  speaking  now  for  Allan  as 
well  as  for  myself,  and  for  Arthur  too.  To  tear  you 
out  of  our  lives  is  the  hardest  thing  we  have  ever  had 
to  do.  Your  coming  changed  everything  for  us.  We 
were  never  so  happy  before.  We  shall  never  know 
anything  like  it  again.  If  you  were  what  we  thought, 
a  nameless  and  friendless  child,  you  would  be  wel- 
come back  again,  more  welcome  than  I  can  tell  you. 
But  you  have  your  own  life  to  live,  and  it  is  not  ours. 
[You  have  your  own  place  to  fill  in  the  world,  and, 
torgive  me,  your  mother's  memory  to  vindicate. 


282  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

Monsieur  Feurgeres  was  right.     For  her  sake  you 
must  claim  the  things  that  are  yours." 

"  But  shall  I  never  see  you  again,  Arnold  ?  "  she 
asked,  with  a  little  catch  in  her  breath. 

I  set  my  teeth.  I  could  see  that  the  Archduchess 
was  watching  us. 

"  Our  ways  must  lie  far  apart,  Isobel,"  I  said. 
"  But  who  can  say  ?  Many  things  may  happen. 
The  Princess  Isobel  may  visit  the  studios  when  she 
is  in  London  or  at  Homburg.  She  may  patronize 
the  poor  writer  whose  books  she  knows." 

Isobel  sat  and  listened  to  me  with  stony  face. 

"  I  wonder,"  she  murmured,  "  why  the  way  to 
one's  duty  lies  always  through  Hell  ?  " 

Isobel's  lips  were  quivering,  and  I  dared  make  no 
effort  to  console  her.  The  Archduchess  came  sud- 
denly across  the  room  to  us,  and  bent  affectionately 
over  Isobel. 

"  My  dear  child,"  she  said,  "  you  are  overtired. 
Go  and  talk  to  Adelaide.  She  is  alone  in  the  music- 
room.  I  have  something  to  say  to  Mr.  Greatson." 

Isobel  rose  and  left  us  at  once.  The  Archduchess 
took  her  place.  She  was  carrying  a  fan  of  black 
ostrich  feathers,  and  she  waved  it  languidly  for  some 
time  as  though  in  deep  thought. 

"  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said  at  length. 

I  turned  and  found  her  eyes  fixed  curiously  upon 
me.  These  were  moments  which  I  remembered  all 
my  life,  and  every  little  detail  in  connection  with  them 
seemed  flashed  into  my  memory.  The  strange  per- 
fume, something  like  the  burning  of  wood  spice, 
wafted  towards  me  by  her  fan,  the  glitter  of  the  blue 
black  sequins  which  covered  her  magnificent  gown, 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  283 

the  faint  smile  upon  her  parted  lips,  and  the  meaning 
in  her  eyes  —  all  these  things  made  their  instantane- 
ous and  ineffaceable  impression.  Then  she  leaned  a 
little  closer  to  me. 

"  Mr.    Greatson,"    she   repeated,    "  I   know   your 
secret!"   • 


284  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   IX 

I  AM  afraid  that  for  the  moment  I  lost  my  self- 
possession.  I  had  gone  through  so  much  during 
the  last  few  hours,  and  this  woman  spoke  with  such 
confidence  —  so  quietly,  and  yet  with  such  absolute 
conviction  —  that  I  felt  the  barriers  which  I  had 
built  about  myself  crumbling  away.  I  answered  her 
lamely,  and  without  conviction. 

"  My  secret !  I  do  not  know  what  you  mean.  I 
have  no  secret !  " 

The  black  feathers  fluttered  backwards  and  for- 
wards once  more.  She  regarded  me  still  with  the 
same  quiet  smile. 

"  You  love  my  niece,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said. 

"Madame,"  I  answered,  "you  are  jesting!" 

"  Indeed  I  am  not,"  she  declared.  "  I  have  made 
a  statement  which  is  perfectly  true." 

"  I  deny  it !  "  I  exclaimed  hoarsely. 

"  You  can  deny  it  as  much  as  you  like,  if  you 
think  it  worth  while  to  perjure  yourself,"  she  replied 
coolly.  "  The  truth  remains.  I  have  had  a  good 
deal  of  experience  in  such  matters.  You  love  Isobel, 
and  I  am  not  at  all  sure  that  Isobel  does  not  love 
you." 

"  Madame,"  I  protested,  "  such  statements  are  al> 
surd.  I  am  no  longer  a  young  man.  I  am  thirty- 
four  years  old.  I  have  no  longer  any  thought  of 
marriage.  Lsobel  is  no  more  than  a  child.  I  was 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  285 

nearly  her  present  age  when  she  was  born.  The 
whole  idea,  as  I  trust  you  will  see,  is  ridiculous." 

The  Archduchess  regarded  me  still  with  unchanged 
face. 

"  Your  protestations,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said, 
"amuse,  but  utterly  fail  to  convince  me." 

"  Let  us  drop  the  subject,  then,"  I  said  hastily. 
"  At  least,  if  you  persist  in  your  hallucination,  I  hope 
you  will  believe  this.  I  have  never  spoken  a  word  of 
what  could  be  called  love-making  to  the  child  in  my; 
life." 

"  I  believe  you  implicitly,"  she  answered  promptly. 
"  I  believe  that  I  know  and  can  appreciate  your  posi- 
tion. Let  me  tell  you  that  I  honour  you  for  it." 

"  Madame,"  I  murmured,  "  you  are  very  good. 
Let  us  now  abandon  the  subject." 

"  By  no  means,"  she  answered.  "-On  the  contrary, 
I  should  like  to  discuss  it  with  you  fully." 

"  Madame!  "  I  exclaimed. 

"  Let  us  suppose  for  a  moment,"  she  went  on 
calmly,  "  that  I  am  correct,  that  you  really  love 
Isobel,  but  that  your  peculiar  position  has  imposed 
upon  your  sense  of  honour  the  necessity  for  silence. 
[Well,  your  guardianship  of  her  may  now  be  con- 
sidered to  have  ended.  From  to-night  it  has  passed 
into  my  hands.  Still,  you  would  say  the  difference 
between  your  positions  is  immeasurable.  You  are, 
I  doubt  not,  a  gentleman  by  birth,  but  Isobel  comes 
from  one  of  the  ancient  and  noble  families  of  the 
world,  and  might  almost  expect  to  share  a  throne 
with  the  man  whom  she  elects  to  marry.  It  is  true, 
in  effect,  Mr.  .Greatson,  that  you  are  of  different 
worlds." 


286  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Madame,"  I  answered,  "  why  do  you  trouble  to 
demonstrate  such  obvious  facts  ?  They  are  incontest- 
able. But  supposing  for  a  moment  that  your  surmises 
concerning  myself  were  true,  you  will  understand  that 
they  are  painful  for  me  to  listen  to." 

"  You  must  have  patience,  Mr.  Greatson,"  she  said 
quietly.  "  At  present  I  am  feeling  my  way  through 
my  thoughts.  There  is  rash  blood  in  Isobel's  veins, 
and  I  should  like  her  life  to  be  happier  than  her 
mother's.  She  is  unconventional  and  a  lover  of  free- 
dom. The  etiquette  of  our  Court  at  Illghera  will 
chafe  her  continually.  I  wonder,  Mr.  Greatson,  if 
she  would  not  be  happier  —  married  to  some  one  of 
humbler  birth,  perhaps,  but  who  can  give  her  the 
sort  of  life  she  desires." 

I  was  for  a  moment  dumb  with  astonishment. 
Apart  from  the  amazement  of  the  whole  thing,  the 
Archduchess  was  not  in  the  least  the  sort  of  person 
to  be  seriously  interested  in  the  abstract  question  of 
Isobel's  happiness.  At  least,  I  should  not  have  sup- 
posed her  capable  of  it.  I  imagine  that  she  must 
have  read  my  thoughts,  for  after  a  searching  glance 
at  me  she  continued : 

"  You  doubt  my  disinterestedness,  Mr.  Greatson. 
Perhaps  you  are  right.  I  wish  the  child  well,  but 
there  is  also  this  fact  to  be  considered.  Isobel  mar- 
ried to  an  English  gentleman  such  as,  say,  yourself, 
would  be  no  longer  a  serious  rival  to  my  daughter 
in  the  affections  of  her  grandfather." 

Then  indeed  I  began  to  understand.  What  a 
woman  of  resource!  She  watched  me  closely  behind 
the  feathers  of  her  fan. 

"  Come,"  she  said,  "  this  time  my  plot  is  an  in- 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  287 

nocent  one,  and  it  is  for  Isobel's  happiness  as  well 
as  for  my  daughter's  benefit.  Speak  to  her  now. 
Marry  her  at  once,  here  in  Paris,  and  I  will  give 
her  for  dowry  twenty  thousand  pounds ! " 

I  ground  my  heel  into  the  carpet,  and  I  was  grate- 
ful for  those  long  black  feathers  which  waved  grace- 
fully in  front  of  my  face.  For  I  was  tempted  —  sorely 
tempted.  The  woman's  words  rang  like  mad  music 
in  my  brain.  Speak  to  her !  Why  not  ?  It  was  the 
great  joy  of  the  world  which  waited  for  me  to  pluck 
it.  Why  not?  I  was  not  an  old  man,  the  child  was 
fond  of  me,  a  single  word  of  compliance,  and  I  might 
step  into  my  kingdom.  Oh,  the  rapture  of  it,  the 
wonderful  joy  of  taking  her  hands  in  mine,  of  drop- 
ping once  and  for  ever  the  mask  from  my  face,  the 
gag  from  my  tongue!  A  rush  of  wild  thoughts 
turned  me  dizzy.  My  secret  was  no  longer  a  secret 
at  all.  The  Archduchess  leaned  a  little  closer  to  me, 
and  whispered  behind  those  fluttering  feathers  — 

"  You  are  a  very  wonderful  person,  Mr.  Greatson, 
that  you  have  kept  silence  so  long.  The  necessity  for 
it  has  passed.  The  child  loves  you.  I  am  sure  of  it." 

But  my  moment  of  weakness  was  over.  I  had  a 
sudden  vision  of  Feurgeres,  standing  on  the  stage, 
listening  with  bowed  head  to  the  thunder  of  applause, 
but  with  his  eyes  turned  always  to  the  darkened  box, 
with  its  lonely  bouquet  of  pink  roses  —  lonely  to  all 
save  him,  who  alone  saw  the  hand  which  held  them 

—  of  Feurgeres  in  his  sanctuary,  bending  lovingly 
over  that  chair,  empty  to  all  save  him,  Feurgeres, 
with  that  smile  of  unearthly  happiness  upon  his  lips 

—  calm,  debonair  and  steadfast.     This  was  the  man 
who  had  trusted  me.    I  raised  my  head. 


288  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  Madame,"  I  said  quietly,  "  what  you  suggest  is 
impossible." 

She  stared  at  me  in  incredulous  astonishment. 

"  But  I  do  not  understand,"  she  exclaimed  weakly. 
"  You  agree,  surely  ?  " 

I  shook  my  head. 

"  On  the  contrary,  Madame,"  I  said,  "  I  beg  that 
you  will  not  allude  further  to  the  matter." 

The  Archduchess  muttered  something  in  German 
to  herself  which  I  did  not  understand.  Perhaps  it 
was  just  as  well. 

"  You  will  vouchsafe  me,"  she  begged,  speaking 
very  slowly,  and  keeping  her  eyes  fixed  on  me, 
"some  reason  for  your  refusal?" 

"  I  will  give  you  two,"  I  answered.  "  First,  it 
is  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  my  promise  to  Monsieur 
Feurgeres." 

Her  lip  curled. 

'•"Well?" 

"  Secondly,"  I  continued,  "  I  should  be  taking  a 
dishonourable  advantage  of  my  position  with  regard 
to  Isobel.  She  is  very  grateful  to  me,  and  she  would 
very  likely  mistake  her  sentiments  if  I  were  to  speak 
to  her  as  you  suggest.  She  is  too  young  to  know 
what  love  is.  She  has  met  no  young  men  of  her 
own  rank,  she  does  not  understand  in  the  least  what 
sort  of  position  is  in  store  for  her." 

"  These  are  your  reasons,  then  ?  " 

"  I  venture  to  think  that  they  are  sufficient  ones, 
Madame,"  I  answered. 

The  Archduchess  rose. 

"  We  shall  need  a  new  Cervantes,"  she  remarked, 
"  to  do  justice  to  the  Englishman  of  to-day.  I  shall 


THE   MASTER    MUMMER  289 

keep  my  word,  Mr.  Greatson,  as  regards  Isobel,  and 
I  can  promise  you  this.  If  gaiety  and  eligible  suitors, 
and  the  luxury  of  her  new  life  are  not  sufficient  to 
stifle  any  sentimental  follies  she  may  be  nursing  just 
now,  I  will  not  rest  till  I  find  other  means. 
Adelaide's  future  is  arranged.  I  will  set  myself  to 
make  Isobel's  equally  brilliant.  I  will  make  her  the 
beauty  of  Europe.  She  shall  forget  in  a  month  the 
squalid  days  of  her  life  with  you  and  your  friends 
in  an  attic." 

"  So  long  as  Isobel  is  happy,"  I  answered,  "  my 
mission  is  accomplished,  and  I  am  content." 

"  You  are  a  fool  and  a  liar ! "  she  answered  con- 
temptuously. "  You  will  love  her  all  your  days,  and 
you  know  it.  You  will  grow  to  curse  the  memory 
of  this  hour  in  which  you  threw  away  the  only  chance 
you  will  ever  have  of  winning  her.  The  only  chance, 
mind,  I  will  answer  for  that.  I  wish  you  good-even- 
ing, Mr.  Greatson.  You  are  excused.  Isobel,  as  you 
are  aware,  remains  here.  You  will  find  her  in  the 
music-room  with  Adelaide.  Go  and  make  your 
adieux,  and  make  them  quickly.  You  will  be  inter- 
rupted in  three  minutes." 

She  swept  away  from  me  with  only  the  slightest 
inclination  of  her  head.  I  made  my  way  to  the 
music-room,  where  Isobel  and  her  cousin  were  sit- 
ting together.  Directly  I  entered,  the  latter,  with  a 
little  nod  of  curious  meaning  to  me,  rose  and  left 
us  alone.  I  held  out  my  hands. 

"  Isobel,  dear,"  I  said,  "  this  must  be  —  our  fare- 
well, then  —  for  a  time !  " 

She  placed  her  hands  in  mine.  They  were  as 
cold  as  ice.  Her  cheeks  were  white,  her  eyes  seemed 

'9 


'290  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

fastened  upon  mine.     All  the  while  her  bosom  was 
heaving  convulsively,  but  she  said  nothing. 

"  I  can  only  wish  you  what  Arthur  and  Allan 
have  already  wished  you,"  I  said,  "  happiness !  You 
have  every  chance  of  it,  dear.  You  surely  deserve 
it,  for  you  brightened  up  our  dull  lives  so  that  we 
can,  no  one  of  us,  ever  forget  you.  Think  of  us 
sometimes.  Good-bye ! " 

I  stooped  and  kissed  her  lightly  on  the  cheek.  But 
suddenly  her  arms  were  wound  around  my  neck. 
With  a  strength  which  was  amazing  she  held  me  to 
her. 

"  Arnold !  "  she  sobbed.     "  Oh,  Arnold !  " 

Her  lips  were  upon  mine,  and  in  another  second 
I  should  have  been  lost,  for  my  arms  would  have 
been  around  her.  The  door  opened  and  closed.  We 
heard  the  jingling  of  sequins,  the  sweep  of  a  silken 
train.  The  Archduchess  had  entered.  Isobel's  arms 
fell  from  my  neck,  but  her  cheeks  were  scarlet,  and 
her  eyes  like  stars. 

"You  —  are  going?"  she  pleaded. 

"  I  am  going,"  I  answered  huskily. 

The  Archduchess  came  down  the  room,  humming 
a  light  tune. 

"  So  the  dread  farewell  is  over,  then ! "  she  ex- 
claimed, with  light  good  humour.  "  Come,  child,  no 
red  eyes.  Remember,  a  Waldenburg  weeps  only  twice 
in  her  life.  Once  more,  good-night,  Mr.  Greatson." 

I  had  reached  the  door.  Isobel  was  standing  still 
with  outstretched  arms.  The  Archduchess  glided  be- 
tween us  —  and  I  went. 

•  ••«••• 

The  next  morning  I  travelled  unseen  by  the  Riviera 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  291 

express,  to  which  the  saloon  of  the  Archduchess  had 
been  attached,  all  the  way  to  Illghera.  I  saw  her 
driven  with  the  others  to  the  villa. 

Two  days  afterwards,  from  a  hill  overlooking1  the 
grounds,  I  saw  an  old  gentleman  in  a  pony  chaise 
preceded  by  two  footmen  in  dark  green  livery. 
Adelaide  walked  on  one  side,  and  Isobel  on  the 
other.  That  night  I  left  Illghera  for  England. 


292  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   X 

I  KNEW  the  moment  I  opened  the  door  that 
changes  were  on  foot.  Our  studio  sitting-room 
was  dismantled  of  many  of  its  treasures.  Allan,  with 
his  coat  off  and  a  pipe  in  his  mouth,  was  throw- 
ing odds  and  ends  in  a  promiscuous  sort  of  way 
into  a  huge  trunk  which  stood  open  upon  the  floor. 
Arthur,  a  few  yards  off,  was  rolling  a  cigarette. 

Our  meeting  was  not  wholly  free  from  embarrass- 
ment. I  think  that  for  the  first  time  in  our  lives  there 
was  a  cloud  between  Allan  and  myself.  He  stood 
Up  and  faced  me  squarely. 

"  Arnold,"  he  said,  "  where  is  Isobel?  " 

"  In  Illghera  with  her  grandfather,"  I  answered. 
"  Where  else  should  she  be  ?  " 

"  Are  you  sure  ?  " 

"  I  have  seen  her  there  with  my  own  eyes,"  I 
affirmed. 

There  was  a  moment's  pause.  I  saw  the  two 
exchange  glances.  Then  Allan  held  out  his  hand. 

"  That  damned  woman  again ! "  he  exclaimed. 
"  Forgive  me,  Arnold !  " 

"  Willingly,"  I  answered,  "  when  I  know  what 
'for." 

"  Suspecting  you.  Lady  Delahaye  wrote  Arthur 
a  note,  in  which  she  said  that  the  Archduchess  and 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  293 

you  had  made  fresh  plans.  You  can  guess  what 
they  were.  And  Illghera  was  off.  You  did  hurry 
us  away  from  Paris  a  bit,  you  know,  and  I  was  fool 
enough  to  imagine  for  a  moment  that  there  might 
be  something  in  it.  Forgive  me,  Arnold !  "  he  added, 
holding  out  his  hand. 

"  And  me !  "  Arthur  exclaimed,  extending  his. 

I  held  out  a  hand  to  each.  There  was  something 
grimly  humorous  in  this  reception,  after  all  that  I 
had  suffered  during  the  last  few  days.  My  first 
impulse  of  anger  died  away  almost  as  quickly  as  it 
had  been  conceived. 

"  My  friends,"  I  said,  "  the  Archduchess  did  pro- 
pose some  such  scheme  to  me,  but  you  forget  that 
my  honour  was  involved,  not  only  to  you,  not  only 
to  the  child,  but  to  a  dead  man.  I  can  look  you  both 
in  the  face  and  assure  you  that  in  word  and  letter  I 
have  been  faithful  to  my  trust." 

"  I  knew  it !  "  Allan  declared  gruffly.  "  Dear  old 
chap,  forgive  me !  " 

"  I  am  the  brute  who  dangled  the  letter  before 
his  eyes,"  Arthur  exclaimed  bitterly,  "  and  I  am 
the  only  one  of  the  three  who  has  broken  our 
covenant." 

"  My  dear  friends,"  I  said  slowly,  "  the  things 
which  are  past,  let  us  forget.  Isobel  has  gone  back 
to  the  life  which  claimed  her.  No  barrier  which 
human  hand  could  rear  could  separate  her  from  us 
so  effectually  and  irrevocably  as  the  mere  fact  that 
she  has  taken  up  the  position  which  belongs  to  her. 
She  is  the  Princess  Isobel  of  Waldenburg,  a  king's 
grandchild.  And  we  are  —  what  we  are!  Let  me 
now  make  my  confession  to  you.  I,  too,  loved  her.'* 


294  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

• 

The  two  hands  which  held  mine  tightened  for  a; 
moment  their  grasp.  The  old  "  camaradie "  was 
established  once  more. 

"  It  is  I  who  was  responsible  for  her  coming,"  I 
continued.  "  It  is  only  fitting  that  I,  too,  should 
suffer.  How  she  grew  into  our  hearts  you  all  know. 
She  has  gone,  and  nothing  can  ever  be  the  same. 
Yet  I  for  one  do  not  regret  it.  I  regret  nothing! 
I  am  content  to  live  with  the  memory  of  these 
wonderful  days  she  spent  with  us.'* 

"And  I!"  Allan  declared. 

"And  I!"  Arthur  echoed. 

I  wrung  their  hands,  for  it  was  a  joy  to  me  to  feel 
that  we  had  come  once  more  into  complete  accord. 

"  You  know  what  sort  of  a  state  we  were  drifting 
into  when  she  came,"  I  continued.  "  We  were  like 
thousands  of  others.  We  were  rubbing  shoulders, 
hour  by  hour  and  day  by  day,  with  the  world  which 
takes  no  account  of  beautiful  things.  She  came  and 
laid  the  magician's  hand  upon  our  lives.  We  had 
perforce  to  alter  our  ways,  to  alter  our  surroundings, 
our  amusements,  our  ideals.  Joy  came  with  her, 
and  pain  may  find  a  secret  place  in  our  hearts  now 
that  she  has  gone,  but  I  do  not  think  that  either 
of  us  would  willingly  blot  out  from  his  life  these 
last  two  years.  Would  you,  Arthur  ?  " 

"  Not  I !  "  he  declared.  "  We  had  to  learn  our- 
selves to  teach  her.  To  chuck  the  things  that  were 
rotten,  anyhow,  just  because  she  was  around.  Jolly 
good  for  us,  too ! " 

"  I  agree  with  Arthur  and  you,"  Allan  said.  "  I 
agree  with  all  that  you  have  said.  The  child  was 
dear  to  me  too.  So  dear,  that  I  do  not  think  that  it 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  295 

would  be  easy  to  go  back  to  our  old  life  without  her. 
That  is  why " 

He  glanced  around  the  room.  Our  hands  fell 
apart.  I  lit  a  cigarette  and  looked  at  the  open  trunk. 

"  You  are  going  away,  Allan  ?  " 

He  nodded. 

"I'm  off  to  Canada,"  he  said.  "I've  an  old 
uncle  there  who 's  worth  looking  after,  and  he 's 
always  bothering  me  to  pay  him  a  visit.  Right  time 
of  the  year,  too  —  and  hang  it  all,  Arnold,  I  've  sat 
here  for  a  week  in  front  of  an  empty  canvas,  and  I  'd 
go  to  hell  sooner  than  stand  it  any  longer !  " 

"And  you,  Arthur?" 

"  I  have  been  appointed  manager  of  our  Paris 
Depot,"  Arthur  answered  a  little  grandiloquently. 
"  I  could  n't  refuse  it.  Much  better  pay  and  more 
fun,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing,  and  —  oh,  hang  it  all, 
Arnold,  is  it  likely  a  fellow  could  stay  here  now  she  's 
gone?  "  he  wound  up,  with  a  little  catch  in  his  throat. 

So  the  old  days  were  over!  I  looked  at  my  desk, 
and  by  the  side  of  it  was  the  chair  in  which  she  used 
sometimes  to  sit  while  I  read  to  her.  Then  I  think 
that  I,  too,  was  glad  that  this  change  was  to  come. 

"  There  is  one  thing,  Arnold,"  Mabane  said  quietly, 
"  about  her  things.  We  locked  the  door  of  her  room. 
Mrs.  Burdett  has  packed  up  most  of  her  clothes,  but 
there  are  the  ornaments  and  a  few  little  things  of  her 
own.  We  should  like  to  go  in  —  Arthur  and  I.  We 
have  waited  for  you." 

"  We  will  go  now,"  I  answered.  "  She  will  have 
no  need  of  anything  that  she  has  left  behind.  We 
will  each  choose  a  keepsake,  and  lock  the  rest  up." 

4We  entered  the  room  all  together,  almost  on  tip- 


296  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

toe.  If  we  had  been  wearing  hats  I  am  sure  that 
we  should  have  taken  them  off.  How,  with  such 
trifling  means  at  her  command,  she  could  have  left 
behind  in  that  tiny  chamber  so  potent  an  impression 
of  daintiness  and  comfort  I  cannot  tell.  But  there 
it  was.  Her  little  bed,  with  its  spotless  counterpane, 
was  hung  with  pink  muslin.  There  was  a  lace  spread 
upon  her  toilet-table,  on  which  her  little  oddments 
of  silver  made  a  brave  show.  Only  one  thing  seemed 
out  of  place,  a  worn  little  slipper  peeping  out  from 
under  a  chair.  I  thrust  it  into  my  pocket.  The  others 
took  some  trifle  from  the  table.  Then,  as  silently  as 
we  had  entered,  we  left  the  room.  As  I  turned  the 
key  I  choked  down  something  in  my  throat,  and  did 
my  best  to  laugh  —  a  little  unnaturally,  I  am  afraid. 

"  Come ! "  I  cried,  "  it  is  I  who  am  responsible  for 
this  attack  of  sentiment.  I  will  show  you  how  to 
get  rid  of  it.  You  dine  with  me  at  Hautboy's.  I 
have  money  —  lots  of  it.  Feurgeres  left  me  twenty 
thousand  pounds.  Hautboy's  and  a  magnum  of  the 
best.  How  long  will  you  fellows  be  dressing?  " 

They  tried  to  fall  into  my  mood.  Allan  mixed 
cocktails.  We  drank  and  smoked  and  shouted  to 
one  another  uproariously  from  our  rooms  as  we 
changed  our  clothes.  We  drove  to  Hautboy's  three 
in  a  hansom,  and  Arthur  spent  his  usual  five  minutes 
chaffing  the  young  lady  behind  the  tiny  bar.  But 
when  the  wine  came,  and  our  glasses  were  filled,  a 
sudden  silence  fell  upon  us.  We  looked  at  each  other, 
and  we  all  knew  what  was  in  the  minds  of  all  of  us. 
It  was  Allan  who  spoke. 

"  To  Isobel !  "  he  said  softly. 

We  drank   in   silence,   each   busy   with   his   own 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  297 

thoughts.  But  afterwards  Arthur  raised  his  glass 
high  above  his  head. 

"To  the  Princess  Isobel!"  he  cried.  "Long  life 
and  good  luck  to  her!  " 

Afterwards  there  were  no  more  toasts. 

Arthur  and  Allan  went  their  several  ways  within 
twenty-four  hours  of  our  farewell  dinner.  I  saw 
them  both  off,  and  I  forced  them  with  great  difficulty 
to  share  to  some  small  extent  in  Feurgeres'  legacy. 
Then  I  took  some  rooms  near  my  club  in  the  heart  of 
London,  and  line  for  line,  word  for  word,  I  re-wrote 
the  whole  of  the  story  which  I  had  not  dared  to 
show  to  Isobel,  determined  that  the  one  thing  I  still 
had  which  was  part  of  her  body  and  soul  should  be 
the  best  that  my  brain  and  skill  could  fashion.  So 
the  winter  and  the  early  spring  passed,  and  then 
my  story  was  published. 


298  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 


CHAPTER   XI 

A  MIRACLE  of  white  daintiness,  from  the  spot- 
less muslin  of  her  gown  to  the  creamy  lace 
which  hung  from  her  parasol.  So  far  as  toilette 
went,  Lady  Delahaye  was  always  an  artist.  Yet  my 
pulses  were  unmoved,  and  my  heart  unstirred,  as 
she  stood  under  my  dark  cedar-tree  and  welcomed 
me  with  all  the  expression  which  her  tone  and  eyes 
could  command. 

"  So  you  see,  Sir  Hermit,"  she  murmured,  "  what 
happens  to  those  who  will  not  go  to  the  mountain? 
Seriously,  I  hope  you  are  glad  to  see  me." 

"  Why  not  ?  "  I  answered  calmly.  "  Will  you 
come  inside,  or  shall  we  sit  here  in  the  shade  ?  " 

"  Here,  by  all  means,"  she  answered,  subsiding 
gracefully  into  a  wicker  chair. 

"  You  will  let  me  order  you  some  tea?" 

She  checked  my  movement  towards  the  house. 

"For  Heaven's  sake,  no!     I  have  been  paying  \ 
calls  all  the  afternoon  with  Mrs.  Jerningham,  and 
you  know  what  that  means.    She  has  gone  to  the  Hall 
now,  and  I  am  to  pick  her  up  in  half  an  hour." 

"  You  are  staying  at  Eastf ord  House,  then  ?  "  I 
remarked. 

"  For  a  few  days.    Can  you  guess  why?  " 

"  The  house  parties  there  have  the  reputation  of 
being  amusing,"  I  suggested. 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  299 

She  shook  her  head. 

"  It  was  not  that.  Can  you  make  no  better 
guess?" 

"  I  am  a  dunce  at  riddles,"  I  admitted. 

"  You  are  a  dunce  at  many  things,"  she  replied. 
"  The  reason  I  came  was  because  I  knew  that  you 
were  living  in  these  parts,  and  I  had  a  fancy  to  see 
you  again." 

"  You  are  very  good,"  I  remarked. 

She  looked  at  me  critically. 

"  You  have  not  changed,"  she  said  slowly.  "  One 
would  almost  say  that  the  life  of  a  recluse  agrees 
with  you.  You  have  by  no  means  the  white  and 
wasted  look  which  I  expected.  Is  it  fame  which  you 
have  found  so  potent  a  tonic?  " 

I  laughed  lightly. 

"  Don't  call  it  fame,"  I  answered.  "  Success,  if 
you  will.  My  profession  is  so  much  of  a  lottery.  A 
whiff  of  public  opinion,  a  criticism  which  hits  the 
popular  fancy,  and  the  bubble  is  floated.  I  'm  not 
pretending  that  I  don't  appreciate  it,  but  it  was  a 
stroke  of  luck  all  the  same." 

She  was  silent  for  a  few  moments.  From  outside 
we  could  hear  the  jingling  of  harness  as  Mrs.  Jer- 
ningham's  fat  bays  resented  the  onslaught  of  officious 
flies.  Nearer  at  hand  there  was  only  the  lazy  hum- 
ming of  bees  to  break  the  stillness  of  the  summer 
afternoon.  Lady  Delahaye  sighed. 

'*  You  are  talking  nonsense,  and  you  know  it,"  she 
said.  "  I  do  not  want  to  flatter  you.  Any  man  who 
has  the  trick  of  the  pen,  and  chooses  to  give  him- 
self wholly  and  utterly  away,  can  write  a  powerful 
story." 


300  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

"  I  am  afraid  that  I  do  not  understand  you,"  I 
protested. 

"  Yes,  you  do.  You  cut  open  your  own  heart, 
and  you  offered  the  world  a  magnifying  glass  to 
study  its  wounds.  You  wrote  your  own  story.  You 
told  the  tale  of  your  own  suffering.  Of  course  it 
was  strong,  of  course  it  rang  with  all  the  truth  of 
genius.  So  you  loved  that  child,  Arnold!  You,  a 
man  of  the  world,  not  a  callow  schoolboy.  You  loved 
her  magnificently.  Did  she  know  ?  " 

"  She  did  not  know,"  I  answered.  "  She  never 
will  know." 

"  She  may  read  the  book !  " 
,  "  She  may  read  it,  and  yet  not  know,"  I  answered. 

"  It  is  true,"  she  murmured.  "  Unless  she  loved 
herself  she  might  not  understand." 

Again  we  were  silent  for  a  while.  The  perfume  of 
the  cedars  floated  upon  the  hot  breathless  air.  Lady 
Delahaye  half  closed  her  eyes  and  leaned  back. 

"  You  read  the  newspapers,  Sir  Hermit?  " 

"  Sometimes." 

"  You  have  heard  the  news  from  Waldenburg?  " 

"  I  read  of  the  King's  death." 

"And  of  the  betrothal  of  the  Princess  Isobel?" 

"  Yes.    I  have  read  also  of  that." 

"  The  cousins  will  both  be  the  consorts  of  reign- 
ing sovereigns,  small  though  their  kingdoms  may  be. 
One  reads  great  things  of  Adelaide.  Her  people  call 
her  already  '  the  well-beloved.' ' 

A  swift  rush  of  thought  carried  me  back  to  the 
dark  stormy  crossing,  when  the  rain  had  beaten  in 
our  faces,  and  the  wind  came  booming  down  the 
Channel.  Adelaide  stood  once  more  by  my  side.  I 


301 

heard  the  quiet,  "bitter  words,  the  low,  passionate 
cry  of  her  troubled  heart.  "  The  well-beloved  "  of 
her  people !  After  all,  race  tells. 

"  I  spoke  but  twice  alone  to  the  Princess  Adelaide," 
I  said.  "  I  learnt  enough  of  her,  however,  to  be  sure 
that  in  any  position  she  would  do  the  thing  that  was 
right  and  gracious." 

"  And  so  will  Isobel,"  Lady  Delahaye  said.  "  I 
know  the  race  well.  The  men  are  degenerates,  but 
the  women  have  nerve  to  rule  and  courage  to  hold 
their  own  against  the  world.  Isobel' s  future  may 
well  be  the  more  brilliant  of  the  two.  'Can  you  realize, 
I  wonder,  that  Isobel  of  Waldenburg  was  once  the 
child  who  filled  your  brain  with  such  strange 
fancies  ?  " 

"  I  never  think,"  I  answered,  "  of  Isobel  of 
Waldenburg." 

"  You  are  wise,"  she  answered.  "  She  is  as  surely 
separated  from  us  eternally  as  though  she  had  made 
that  little  journey  from  which  one  does  not  return. 
Yet  you  —  you  are  going  to  hug  your  wounds  all 
your  life.  Is  that  wise,  my  friend  ?  " 

I  laughed  softly. 

"  You  are  mistaken,"   I  assured  her.     "  I  have 
no  wounds  —  not  even  regrets.    I  believe  that  there  \ 
are  few  men  happier.     Look  at  my  home ! " 

"  It  is  beautiful,"  she  admitted. 

"  My  gardens,  my  flowers,  my  cedar-tree  and  my 
books,"  I  said.  "  These  are  all  a  joy  to  me.  What 
more  can  a  man  want?  Friends  have  moods,  and 
they  pass  away  out  of  one's  life.  The  friends  who- 
smile  from  my  study  wall  are  patient  and  always 
ready.  There  is  one  to  fit  every  hour.  They  do  not 


302  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

change.  They  are  always  ready  to  show  me  the  way 
into  the  world  beautiful,  to  cheer  me  when  I  am  sad, 
to  laugh  with  me  when  I  am  gay.  You  must  not 
waste  any  sympathy  on  me,  Lady  Delahaye.  The 
man  who  has  learnt  to  live  alone  is  the  man  who 
has  learnt  the  greatest  lesson  life  has  to  teach.  He 
is  the  man  for  whom  the  sun  shines  always,  who 
carries  with  him  for  ever  the  magic  key." 

Lady  Delahaye  disturbed  the  smoothness  of  my 
turf  with  the  point  of  her  parasol. 

"  Are  there  no  times,"  she  asked  in  a  low  tone, 
"  when  these  things  fail  you  ?  No  times  when  like 
calls  for  like,  when  the  human  part  of  you  finds  the 
comfort  of  ashes  a  dead  thing  ?  You  and  your  books 
and  your  flowers !  "  she  cried  scornfully,  raising  her 
head  and  looking  at  me  with  heightened  colour. 
"  Bah !  You  are  a  man,  are  you  not,  like  the  others  ? 
How  long  will  these  content  you?  How  long  will 
you  stop  your  ears  and  forget  that  life  has  passions 
and  joys  which  these  dead  things  can  never  yiefd 
to  you  ?  " 

"  Until,"  I  answered,  "  the  magician  comes  who 
can  make  me  believe  it.  j^nd  I  am  afraid,  Lady 
Delahaye,  that  he  has  passed  me  by." 

She  rose  to  her  feet. 

"  I  am  answered,"  she  said.  "  I  promise  you 
that  I  will  not  intrude  again  into  this  Paradise  of 
wood  and  stone.  Give  me  a  cigarette  to  keep  off 
these  flies,  and  take  me  down  to  the  carriage. 
Thanks!  If  one  might  venture  upon  a  prophecy, 
my  dear  Arnold,  I  think  that  I  can  see  your  fate 
very  clearly  written.  I  do  not  even  need  your  hand 
to  read  it" 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  303 

"  Would  the  spell,"  I  asked,  "  be  broken  if  I  shared 
the  knowledge?  " 

"  Not  in  the  least,"  she  answered,  with  a  hard 
little  laugh.  "  You  will  become  one  of  those  half- 
mad  sort  of  creatures  whom  people  call  cranks,  or 
you  will  marry  your  housekeeper.  In  either  case  you 
will  deserve  your  fate." 

So  Lady  Delahaye  drove  away  down  the  white 
dusty  road,  and  I  walked  back  to  the  study  from 
whence  her  coming  had  brought  me.  As  I  sat  down 
to  my  interrupted  work  I  smiled.  How  little  she 
understood ! 

I  wrote  till  seven  o'clock.  Punctually  at  that  hour 
there  was  a  discreet  knock  at  the  door,  and  my  ser- 
vant reminded  me  that  it  was  time  to  change.  At  a 
quarter  before  eight  I  strolled  into  the  garden  and 
selected  a  piece  of  heliotrope  for  the  buttonhole  of 
my  dinner  coat.  A  few  minutes  later  my  dinner  was 
served. 

My  table  was  a  small  round  one  set  in  front  of 
the  open  French  windows.  Looking  a  little  to  the 
right  I  could  see  the  extent  of  my  domain  —  a  low 
laurel  hedge,  a  sloping  field  beyond,  in  which  my  two 
Alderneys  were  standing  almost  knee-deep  amongst 
the  buttercups;  a  ring  fence,  a  paddock,  and,  be- 
yond, the  road.  To  the  left  were  my  gardens,  the 
sweetness  of  which  came  stealing  through  the  win- 
dow with  the  very  faintest  breath  of  the  slowly 
moving  air,  bordered  by  that  ancient  red  brick  wall, 
mellowed  and  crumbling  with  the  sun  and  west  winds 
of  generations,  and  in  front  of  me  my  lawn  and  the 
cedar-tree  under  which  Lady  Delahaye  had  sat  an 
hour  or  so  ago  and  prophesied  evil  things.  My  lips 


304  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

parted  into  a  smile  as  I  thought  of  her  words.  Did 
she  indeed  think  me  a  creature  so  weak  as  to  pile 
gloom  on  the  top  of  sorrow,  to  shut  my  eyes  to  all 
the  joys  of  life,  because  supreme  happiness  was  denied 
me,  to  play  skittles  with  my  self-respect,  and  —  marry 
a  kitchen-maid  ?  I,  who  had  turned  over  great  pages 
in  the  book  of  life!  I,  who  had  known  Feurgeres! 
Wallace  had  left  the  room  for  a  moment,  and  I  raised 
my  glass  full  of  clear  amber  wine,  and  drank  silently 
my  evening  toast.  I  drank  to  the  memory  of  the 
greatest  love  I  had  ever  known,  to  the  man  whose 
strong  and  beautiful  life  had  taught  me  how  to 
fashion  my  own.  Perhaps  my  thoughts  flashed  a  little 
further  afield.  It  was  so  always  when  I  thought  of 
Feurgeres,  but  it  was  to  the  joyous  and  wonderful 
memory  of  those  earlier  days,  to  Isobel  the  child  I 
drank.  Isobel  of  Waldenburg  had  passed  away  into 
the  world  of  shadows.  I  courted  no  heartaches  by 
vain  thoughts  of  her.  I  pored  over  no  papers  to  find 
mention  of  her  name.  I  was  content  with  what  had 
gone  before. 

I  morbid !  Lady  Delahaye  had  judged  me  wrongly 
indeed.  I,  before  whom  two  great  worlds  stretched 
themselves  continually,  full  of  countless  treasures, 
always  changing,  yet  always  beautiful.  Only  yester- 
day I  had  seen  the  sun  rise.  I  had  seen  the  still 
slumbering  world  break  into  quivering  life.  I  had 
seen  the  curtain  roll  up  on  a  new  act  of  this  most 
wonderful  of  all  plays  to  the  music  of  an  orchestra 
hidden  indeed  in  my  grove  of  chestnuts,  but  sweeter, 
more  joyous,  more  full  of  the  promise  of  perfect 
things  than  ever  a  violin  touched  by  human  fingers. 
Then  the  thrushes  had  hopped  out  on  to  my  dew- 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  305 

spangled  lawn,  where  before  the  hot  sun  the  grey, 
gossamer-like  mist  was  vanishing  like  breath  from  a 
mirror;  my  roses  raised  their  heads,  and  the  breeze 
from  the  west  —  a  lazy,  fluttering  breeze  —  borrowed 
their  sweetness;  my  peaches  cracked  through  their 
full  skins  upon  the  wall,  and  the  bees  commenced 
their  eternal  lullaby  of  murmuring  sounds.  Then  at 
night  —  such  a  night  as  this,  too,  promised  to  be  — 
I  had  watched  the  shadows  come  creeping  over  the 
land  when  the  sun  had  set  and  the  moon  had  barely 
risen ;  a  new  order  of  things  had  come.  The  fire  of 
the  day  was  replaced  by  the  infinite  peace  of  night. 
Beyond  the  confines  of  my  little  domain  the  whole 
world  lay  hushed  and  hidden.  There  were  few  stars 
as  yet  to  mock  with  their  passionless  serenity  the 
toilers  of  the  earth,  worn  out  with  the  long  day's 
struggle.  Only  a  great  quiet  —  a  great,  peaceful 
quiet  —  and  the  shadows  of  dim  things! 

I  morbid,  with  eyes  to  see  these  things,  with  a 
whole  room  full  of  waiting  friends,  ready  at  a  touch 
of  my  fingers,  the  turning  of  a  page,  to  take  me  by 
the  hand  and  lead  into  even  other  worlds  as  beautiful 
as  this,  to  scale  with  me  the  mountains,  or  to  wander 
along  the  flower-strewn  valleys.  Lady  Delahaye  was 
a  very  foolish  woman.  She  had  seen  nothing  of  my 
well-ordered  household,  of  the  ease,  the  luxury  — 
simple,  yet  almost  Sybaritic  —  with  which  I  had  sur- 
rounded myself.  She  did  not  understand  life  from 
my  point  of  view  —  life  as  Feurgeres  had  lived  it. 
The  life  sentimental,  but  not  passionate;  the  life  to 
be  evolved  by  will  from  the  tangle  of  bruised  hopes 
and  hot  desires.  The  life 

I  set  down  my  glass  empty.     The  last  drop  had 


306  THE   MASTER   MUMMER 

tasted  like  vinegar.  Always  one  has  to  fight,  and 
for  a  while  I  sat  in  silence  before  my  table  piled  now 
with  dishes  of  fruit.  My  hands  gripped  the  sides  of 
my  chair,  my  eyes  were  fixed  upon  a  twinkling  light 
which  had  shot  out  from  the  distant  hillside.  Always 
one  has  to  fight  for  the  things  worth  having  —  and 
the  pain  soon  passes. 

In  a  few  minutes  I  rose.  I  lit  a  cigarette  from 
the  box  which  Wallace  had  placed  at  my  elbow,  and 
with  a  handful  more  in  my  pocket  I  stepped  outside. 
On  the  lawn  under  the  cedar-tree  something  was 
lying  —  something  pink  and  fluffy,  and  very  soft  to 
the  fingers.  As  I  held  it  at  arm's  length  a  faint, 
familiar  perfume  stole  up  from  its  flouncy  depths. 
The  pain  was  all  gone  now.  I  smiled  as  I  looked 
at  it.  It  was  Lady  Delahaye's  parasol! 

I  turned  it  over  meditatively.  The  fancy  seized 
me  that  it  had  been  left  there  on  purpose  —  my  last 
chance!  Eastford  House  was  barely  a  mile  and  a 
half  away  —  a  very  reasonable  after-dinner  stroll. 
I  smiled  to  myself  as  I  summoned  Wallace  from  the 
dining-room. 

"  Take  this  parasol  over  to  Eastford  House  as 
soon  as  you  have  served  my  coffee,"  I  directed. 
"  Lady  Delahaye  must  have  left  it  here  this  after- 
noon." 

"  Very  good,  sir,"  Wallace  answered,  relieving  me 
of  my  burden  and  carrying  it  into  the  house. 

Then  I  departed  on  my  usual  evening  pilgrimage. 
I  entered  the  flower  garden  by  a  little  iron  gate,  and 
walked  slowly  amongst  my  roses.  Here  the  air  was 
full  of  delicate  scents  —  lavender  insistent ;  mignon- 
ette faint,  but  penetrating;  homely  wall-flowers, 


sweet  even  as  the  roses  themselves.  Night  insects 
now  were  buzzing  around  me;  the  bushes  took  to 
themselves  phantasmal  shapes;  even  the  path,  very 
narrow  and  overgrown,  was  hard  to  find.  I  filled 
my  hand  with  flowers  and  made  my  way  slowly  back 
to  the  cedar-tree.  The  shadows  were  deeper  now.  It 
was  the  one  hour  of  darkness  before  the  rising  of  the 
late  moon.  I  threw  myself  into  a  low  chair,  and  the 
flowers  on  to  the  seat  which  encircled  the  cedar-tree. 
Oh,  wonderful  Feurgeres,  who  had  taught  me  the 
sweetness  of  such  moments  as  this! 

Always  she  came  the  same  way;  yet  to-night  it 
seemed  to  me  that  a  startling  note  of  reality  heralded 
her  coming.  The  ghostliness  of  her  movements,  that 
noiseless  flitting  across  the  lawn  were  changed.  Al- 
most I  could  have  sworn  that  the  little  iron  gate 
had  indeed  been  opened  and  closed,  that  real  foot- 
steps had  fallen  lightly  enough,  but,  with  actual 
sound,  upon  the  gravel  path,  that  I  could  hear  the 
soft  swish  of  a  real  dress  from  the  slim  white  figure 
which  came  hesitatingly  across  the  lawn.  Oh,  Feur- 
geres was  a  great  man !  It  was  a  great  thing  which 
he  had  taught  me.  My  pulses  were  thrilled  with 
expectant  joy.  Reality  itself  could  be  no  more  real. 
But  to-night  —  to-night  was  a  triumph  indeed !  She 
was  dressed  differently.  She  wore  a  long  white  travel- 
ling cloak,  a  veil  pushed  back  from  her  hat.  I  did 
not  understand.  My  fancy  had  never  dressed  her 
like  this.  That  little  cry,  her  pause.  Had  I  indeed 
done  greater  things  than  Feurgeres,  and  summoned 
to  my  side  real  flesh  and  blood? 

"Arnold!" 

I  gripped  the  sides  of  my  chair.    I  felt  my  breath 


308  THE   MASTER"   MUMMER" 

coming  shorter.  A  cry.  I  could  not  keep  it  back 
from  my  quivering  lips. 

"Isobel!" 

I  could  not  move.  I  was  afraid  of  what  I  had 
done.  And  then  she  dropped  on  her  knees  by  my 
side,  and  real  arms  were  about  my  neck,  real  kisses 
were  upon  my  lips.  Then  I  no  longer  had  any  fear, 
for  from  whatever  world  she  had  come  the  joy  of 
it  was  like  a  foretaste  of  heaven.  I  drew  her  to 
me,  held  her  passionately,  and  I  knew  that  this 
was  no  creature  of  my  mind's  fashioning,  but  a 
live  woman,  whose  heart  beat  so  wildly  against 
my  own.  .  .  . 

"  It  was  all  Adelaide,"  she  murmured  presently. 
"  She  brought  me  your  book,  and  afterwards  we 
talked.  She  was  alone  with  my  grandfather  —  and 
then  he  sent  for  me.  I  was  afraid,  for  this  was 
in  his  last  days.  Shall  I  tell  you  what  he  said, 
Arnold?" 

"  Yes,"  I  answered,  tightening  my  grasp  upon 
her.  "  Go  on  talking!  "  For  I  was  fighting  still  for 
belief. 

"  He  took  my  hand  quite  calmly,  and  I  knew  at 
once  that  I  had  nothing  to  fear.  '  Isobel,'  he  said, 
*  they  tell  me  that  you  have  your  mother's  blood  in 
your  veins,  that  freedom  means  more  to  you  than 
ambition,  that  you  are  a  woman  first  and  a  Walden- 
burg  afterwards.  Is  this  true  ? '  Then  I  told  him 
everything,  and  he  kissed  me.  '  Go  your  own  way, 
Isobel,'  he  said,  'but  stay  with  me  while  I  live. 
Adelaide  has  shown  me  many  things  which  I  did 
not  understand.  Poor  child ! '  He  sent  for  his  law- 
yers, Arnold,  and  he  made  me  a  poor  woman.  I  am 


THE   MASTER   MUMMER  309 

much  too  poor  to  be  a  princess  any  longer  —  unless 
I  may  be  yours." 

Then  I  believed  —  this,  the  strangest  of  all  things 
that  may  happen  to  a  man.  My  garden  of  fancies, 
which  Feurgeres  had  shown  me  so  well  how  to  cul- 
tivate, passed  away  into  the  mists.  Before  the  moon 
rose,  Paradise  was  there. 


THE  END 


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Awakening  of  Helena  Richie.    By  Margaret  Deland. 

Battle  Ground,  The.    By  Ellen  Glasgow. 

Belle  of  Bowling  Green,  The.    By  Amelia  E.  Barr. 

Ben  Blair.     By  Will  Lillibridge. 

Best  Man,  The.    By  Harold  MacGrath. 

Beth  Norvell.    By  Randall  Parrish. 

Bob  Hampton  of  Placer.    By  Randall  Parrish. 

Bob,  Son  of  Battle.    By  Alfred  Ollivant 

Brass  Bowl,  The.    By  Louis  Joseph  Vance. 

Brethren,  The.    By  H.  Rider  Haggard. 

Broken  Lance,  The.     By  Herbert   Quick. 

By  Wit  of  Women.    By  Arthur  W.  Marchmont 

Call  of  the  Blood,  The.    By  Robert  Kitchens. 

Cap'n  Eri.     By  Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

Cardigan.     By  Robert  W.  Chambers. 

Car  of  Destiny,  The.    By  C.  N.  and  A.  N.  Williamson. 

Casting  Away  of  Mrs.  Leeks  and  Mrs.  Aleshine.    By  Frank 

R.  Stockton. 
Cecilia's  Lovers,    By  Amelia  E.  Barr. 


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Colonial  Free  Lance,  A.    By  Chauncey  C.  Hotchkiss. 
Conquest  of  Canaan,  The.    By  Booth  Tarkington. 
Courier  of  Fortune,  A.    By  Arthur  W.  Marchmont. 
Darrow  Enigma,  The.     By  Melvin  Severy. 
Deliverance,  The.     By  Ellen  Glasgow. 
Divine  Fire,  The.     By  May  Sinclair. 
Empire  Builders.    By  Francis  Lynde. 
Exploits  of  Brigadier  Gerard.    By  A.  Conan  Doyle. 
Fighting  Chance,  The.    By  Robert  W.  Chambers. 
For  a  Maiden  Brave.    By  Chauncey  C.  Hotchkiss. 

Fugitive  Blacksmith,  The.    By  Chas.  D.  Stewart. 
God's  Good  Man.    By  Marie  Corelli. 
Heart's  Highway,  The.    By  Mary  E.  Wilkins. 
Holladay  Case,  The.    By  Burton  Egbert  Stevenson. 
Hurricane  Island.    By  H.  B.  Marriott  Watson. 
In  Defiance  of  the  King.     By  Chauncey  C.  Hotchkiss. 
*  Indifference  of  Juliet,  The.     By  Grace  S.  Richmond. 
Infelice.     By  Augusta  Evans  Wilson. 

Lady  Betty  Across  the  Water.    By  C.  N.  and  A.  M.  Will- 
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Last  Trail,  The.     By  Zane  Grey. 
Leavenworth  Case,  The.    By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 
Lilac  Sunbonnet,  The.    By  S.  R.  Crockett. 
Lin  McLean.    By  Owen  Wister. 
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Marthon  Mystery,  The.    By  Burton  Egbert  Stevenson. 

Memoirs  of  Sherlock  Holmes.    By  A.  Conan  Doyle. 

Millionaire  Baby,  The.     By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 

Missourian,  The.     By  Eugene  P.  Lyle,  Jr. 

Mr.  Barnes,  American.    By  A.  C.  Gunter. 

Mr.  Pratt.     By  Joseph  C.  Lincoln. 

My  Friend  the  Chauffeur.    By  C.  N.  and  A.  M.  Williamson. 

My  Lady  of  the  North.     By  Randall  Parrish. 

Mystery  of  June  13th.    By  Melvin  L.  Severy. 

Mystery  Tales.     By  Edgar  Allan  Poe. 

Nancy  Stair.     By  Elinor  Macartney  Lane. 

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Pam.     By  Bettina  von  Hutten. 

Pam  Decides.    By  Bettina  von  Hutten. 

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Phra  the  Phoenician.     By  Edwin  Lester  Arnold. 

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Rose  of  the  World.     By  Agnes  and  Egerton  Castle. 

Running  Water.    By  A.  E.  W.  Mason. 

Sarita  the  Carlist.     By  Arthur  W.  Marchmont. 

Seats  of  the  Mighty,  The.     By  Gilbert  Parker. 

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Pole  Baker.    By  Will  N.  Harben. 
Four  Million,  The.    By  O.  Henry. 
Idols.    By  William  J.  Locke. 
Wayfarers,  The.    By  Mary  Stewart  Cutting. 
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Barrier,  The.    By  Rex  Beach. 
Bar  20.    By  Clarence  E.  Mulford. 
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Chaperon,  The.    By  C.  N.  and  A.  M.  Williamson. 
Colonel  Greatheart.    By  H.  C.  Bailey. 
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Stooping  Lady,  The.       By  Maurice  Hewlett. 

Subjection  of  Isabel  Carnaby.  By  Ellen  Thorneycroft  Fowler. 

Sunset  Trail,  The.     By  Alfred  Henry  Lewis. 

Sword  of  the  Old  Frontier,  A.    By  Randall  Parrish. 

Tales  of  Sherlock  Holmes.    By  A.  Conan  Doyle. 

That  Printer  of  Udell's.     By  Harold  Bell  Wright. 

Throwback,  The.     By  Alfred  Henry  Lewis. 

Trail  of  the  Sword,  The.     By  Gilbert  Parker. 

Treasure  of  Heaven,  The.     By  Marie  Corelli. 

Two  Vanrevels,  The.     By  Booth  Tarkington. 

Up  From  Slavery.    By  Booker  T.  Washington. 

VashtL     By  Augusta  Evans  Wilson. 

Viper  of  Milan,  The  (original  edition).    By  Marjorie  Bowen. 

Voice  of  the  People,  The.    By  Ellen  Glasgow. 

Wheel  of  Life,  The.    By  Ellen  Glasgow. 

When  Wilderness  Was  King.    By  Randall  Parrish. 

Where  the  Trail  Divides.    By  Will  Lillibridge. 

Woman  in  Grey,  A.     By  Mrs.  C.  N.  Williamson. 

Woman  in  the  Alcove,  The.    By  Anna  Katharine  Green. 

Younger  Set,  The.    By  Robert  W.  Chambers. 

The  Weavers.    By  Gilbert  Parker. 

The  Little  Brown  Jug  at  Kildare.    By  Meredith  Nicholson. 

The  Prisoners  of  Chance.    By  Randall  Parrish. 

My  Lady  of  Cleve.    By  Percy  J.  Hartley. 

Loaded  Dice.    By  Ellery  H.  Clark. 

Get  Rich  Quick  Wallingford.    By  George  Randolph  Chester,, 

The  Orphan.    By  Clarence  Mulford. 

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Inez.    (Illustrated  Edition.)    By  Augusta  J.  Evans. 

Into  the  Primitive.    By  Robert  Ames  Bennet. 

Katrina.    By  Roy  Rolfe  Gilson. 

King  Spruce.    By  Holman  Day. 

Macaria.    (Illustrated  Edition.)   By  Augusta  J.  Evans. 

Meryl.    By  Wm.  Tillinghast  Eldredge. 

Old,  Old  Story,  The.    By  Rosa  Nouchette  Carey. 

Quest  Eternal,  The.    By  Will  Lillibridge. 

Silver  Blade,  The.    By  Charles  E.  Walk. 

St.  Elmo.  (Illustrated  Edition.)    By  Augusta  J.  Evans. 

Uncle  William.    By  Jennette  Lee. 

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